1 Corinthians 13
The Song of Love
If I spoke with the tongues of men and angels and didn't have love, I would be a resounding ore or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I can prophesy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge, and have all faith to move mountains, and have not love, I am nothing. 3 And if I gave all my possessions to the poor, and gave my body to boast, and had not love, it would profit me nothing. 4 Love is long-suffering and kind, love is not envious, love does not play tricks, it does not puff itself up, 5 it does not behave improperly, it does not seek what is its own, it is not angered, it does not impute evil , 6 she does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but she rejoices in the truth; 7 she endures everything, she believes everything, she hopes everything, she endures everything. 8 Love never fails, when prophecy will cease, and tongues will cease, and knowledge will cease. 9 For our knowledge is in part, and our prophecy is in part. 10 But when the perfect comes, the partial will end. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, thought like a child, and knew like a child; but when I became a man I put away what was childish. 12 We now see through a mirror in a dark image; but then face to face. Now I realize bit by bit; but then I will know as I am known. 13 But now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but love is the greatest among them.
Long-suffering!
A word that we no longer know in this form today. The expression "patience" comes closest to this word. Long-suffering is, so to speak, the increased form of patience and means great patience, long patience. persevering waiting.
Almost a nonsense these days. Because time is money, right?
But the Bible uses the word long-suffering to express a spiritual virtue. And when we look at the works of God and how he deals with his creation. we cannot help but recognize that God is long-suffering personified. Because he loves his creation, and because that's the way it is, he gives us time so that we human children can do the right thing. His long-suffering is part of his character, and the Holy Spirit who has been placed to help us reflects that trait. Because he too is God. This long-suffering of the Holy Spirit, one of the three manifestations of the triune God, is to ripen in us as the fruit of the Spirit. And just as we humans enjoy the long-suffering of God, so should other people enjoy our long-suffering. So you can say that longsuffering is always related to people and has love as its basis. If we don't have love for our fellow human beings, then patience or forbearance is just an outward appearance, something we do to be respected.
Long-suffering is never a trait that occurs alone, but is closely related to love and forgiveness. For the long-suffering bears (almost)* everything, he (almost)* always hopes, he forgives (almost)* permanently. And just as Christ always gives us a chance to turn back, we should also meet the other person. But long-suffering is a fruit of the Spirit, and as the apple or the pear has its ripening season, so man has his ripening season. But the more we practice this long-suffering, the easier it becomes for us. A maturing process. This process is impossible to create without the connection to God.
That's why I keep pointing out in my posts that it's important to establish this connection to Christ. To invite him into our lives, to admit to us again and again that we can't do it without him.
Being long-suffering has absolutely nothing to do with weakness, but is an expression of the strength of character of God and of the people who follow his example in living that long-suffering.
And one more thing, dear reader, being long-suffering with those we connect with, those we sympathize with, those we love and cherish is not difficult.
It is difficult to be long-suffering with the unsympathetic, the dishonest, those who lie and deceive us, those who mock and slander us. They continually test our faith, love, forgiveness, and long-suffering. And when we look to Christ and remember how long-suffering he is with us and was, we realize it's about the difficult ones.
*I write almost because human long-suffering has its limits. God forgives us whenever we ask, but as human beings we have limits.
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