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Brothers and sisters, we urge you to warn those who are lazy. Encourage those who are timid. Take tender care of those who are weak. Be patient with everyone. (1 Thessalonians 5:14)

The theme of yesterday’s DWOD is encapsulated in this verse: Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act (Psalm 37:7).

As I finished writing it, the Lord reminded me that there is another test of patience that is often more difficult to endure than waiting for Him. Put simply, it has to do with how patient we are with one another.

We who are created in the image of God and growing in the likeness of His Son Jesus would only be mirroring Him when we are patient, amen? After all “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9)

You will also recall that among the nine-fold fruit of the Spirit, fourth in prominence is the pomegranate of patience. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22-23)

And, let us not forget that at the top of the list of the many manifestations of love in I Corinthians 13:4-8 is that word again! “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.” (I Corinthians 13:4-5)

Judging by these verses, you could be led to believe that those who acknowledge Jesus as Lord, filled to overflowing with the love of the Father and operating in the power of the Holy Spirit would automatically be patient with one another.

Alas! Such is not the case. Mea culpa. Otherwise there would be no need for exhortations such as the one at the top of this post and those listed below penned by the apostle Paul:

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; BE PATIENT, bearing with one another in love. (Ephesians 4:1-2)

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and PATIENCE. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. (Colossians 3:12-13)

Yet, I am very grateful to God for those who have been patient with me over the years, most notably, my wife Sulojana, who has had to put up with me for more than three decades now! Ditto for my parents, children, other members of the family and members of the churches I have pastored.

Kudos also to you, our faithful DWOD subscribers, for your patience with me over the past month or so, when the daily posts have not always showed up daily…or they show up pre-dated by three days…or when three arrive in quick succession within a 24 hour period.

Let me first of all apologize for the recent lack of consistency. It is partly due to the priorities of pastoring superseding other labours of love, compounded by Darren Canning having to cut down his customary prolific production due to the demands of his new job.

We are grateful to our guest contributors who have filled in admirably, as necessary. We are almost caught up with the backlog. Beginning next week, we will honour our commitment to help you start every morning with the Destiny Word of the Day.

May you continue to be patient with one another as God is with you and as you have been with me. May others know that you are followers of Jesus by your love which is marked—first and foremost—by patience.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. (I Corinthians 13:4-8)

Chances are very good that you’ve heard these words read at a service of Christian marriage at one time or another. It was the Scripture of choice for most, if not all couples whose marriage services I was privileged to conduct over the past 31+ years of ordained ministry.

 

(It is also the Scripture of choice for Valentine’s Day apparently…see last year’s DWOD)

 

Coming on the heels of Paul’s extensive teaching on the gifts of the Holy Spirit, it is clearly meant to tell us that such lofty characteristics of love are not attainable on our strength alone. It is only through the power of the Holy Spirit operating in us that we can even conceive of such love being expressed by us. As Paul reminds us elsewhere: God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.(Romans 5:5)

 

At the same time though, we have learned from experience that when push comes to shove, the way we express ourselves in love is also a choice.

 

Yes, “love is patient”,but when my patience is tested by one who keeps on ignoring me over and over again, I must exercise my will and choose to be patient.

 

Yes, “love is kind”, but when someone is cruel to me, and my first impulse is to retaliate with a verbal missile, I must choose to abort its launch.

 

Yes, “love does not envy”, but when I see someone getting more recognition than I do for less work than I do, it is my choice that determines whether the lens through which I view them is envy green or pure white.

 

Get the picture?

 

This is why in Colossians 3:14, Paul tells us to “put on love.”

 

When you read the verses that precede these words, you will realize that Paul is using the analogy of removing old clothing and putting on a new outfit. In verse 12 he says: “Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”

 

It is similar to the way we choose which item in our wardrobe we will wear on a given day. Any number of choices can vie for our attention, but we cast the deciding vote.

 

On Valentine’s Day, you can easily get the impression that love is something that only oozes out of us in rising rivulets of emotion.

 

Yes, love is emotional, and it must express itself emotionally, but love is not primarily an emotion, it is first and foremost a decision.

 

Love is indeed a “choice” word!

 

I have been known to tell couples at their wedding that it is easy to say “I love you” when you’re in the mood for romance, the candle is burning and the wine is flowing.

 

But the real test of love comes…

When you wake up in the morning to the scary sight of your partner’s “bed head”,

When the excitement of expecting a baby is tempered by the onset of morning

sickness in your pregnant wife—every blessed day for three blessed months straight,

          When the stack of unpaid bills signals outflow exceeding income—for the sixth month in a row…

That’s when your spouse needs to see the love of God that was poured into your heart flowing out from you.

 

Ask Holy Spirit in you for help. Then make the right choice. Chances are very good that it will be the choice of Love.

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.”  (I Corinthians 13:4-8a)

These timeless words penned by the apostle Paul nearly 2000 years ago are read at just about every service of Christian marriage.

Perhaps it is appropriate that we consider them once again today on Valentine’s Day, 2013.

More than one couple has remarked that these words describe an ideal that is difficult to attain, much less maintain in marriage.

Yet the apostle Paul lists them as the kind of love that is a fact of life for “children of God” who are joint-heirs with Jesus and are led by his Holy Spirit. (Romans 8:14-17)

Is such love really possible for us?

Before we answer that question, let us substitute the word “Jesus” for love. Now this passage reads:

“Jesus is patient, Jesus is kind. He does not envy, He does not boast, He is not proud. He is not rude, He is not self-seeking, He is not easily angered, He keeps no record of wrongs. Jesus does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. He always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Jesus never fails.”

Clearly these words aptly describe Jesus, amen?

Let’s take it one step further.

The apostle John reminds us: “As he is, so are we in this world.” (I John 4:17)

In other words, we can be like Jesus and love as He does.

If we believe this, we can read these words again, substituting “I” for “love. Try it!

“I am patient, I am kind. I do not envy, I do not boast, I am not proud. I am not rude, I am not self-seeking, I am not easily angered, I keep no record of wrongs. I do not delight in evil but rejoice with the truth. I always protect, always trust, always hope, always persevere. I never fail.”

Did you do it without pausing, gulping or choking? Congratulations!

On this Valentine’s Day, if you are in a relationship of marriage or one leading to marriage, substitute the name of your beloved for “love.”

Please read this out aloud. I’ll use the name of my beloved, Sulojana.

Hear these words as coming from the mouth of Jesus about him/her.

“Sulojana is patient, Sulojana is kind. She does not envy, She does not boast, She is not proud. She is not rude, She is not self-seeking, She is not easily angered, She keeps no record of wrongs. Sulojana does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. She always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Sulojana never fails.”

Do you want to make it even more personal and powerful?

Look each other in the eye and read these words out aloud. Remember it is Jesus speaking through your voice:

“(FIRST NAME), you are patient, you are kind. You do not envy, you do not boast, you are not proud. You are not rude, you are not self-seeking, you are not easily angered, you keep no record of wrongs. You do not delight in evil but rejoice with the truth. You always protect, always trust, always hope, always persevere. You never fail.”

Did you get emotional? Good! You’re supposed to! Jesus did 🙂

Happy Valentine’s Day, ya’ll!