Wooden cross in the Good Shepherd Chapel

Day

10

Love is Patient

Lent 2018

1 Corinthians 13:4 & 2 Peter 3:9

I am not a patient person. I learned this when I was 25 years old and wanted to buy a home. Houses did not come cheaply then; a starter home in an older neighborhood could be had for $60,000. We couldn’t come close to affording that. I prayed for patience, thinking that might hurry God along. Wrong. My husband and I were married ten years before we managed to buy our first home. In Biblical terms, ten years is small potatoes. I finally realized that patience requires waiting on the Lord. He’s still teaching me patience, and I’m still learning to wait.

Thank God for His patience! He gave Adam and Eve the promise of a child who would restore their relationship with him. While they probably expected each of their sons to be the fulfillment of this promise, God waited many years until the time was fully ripe to send his Son into the world for our salvation. God’s patience extends further. He demonstrates his patience when he offers his gifts of faith, forgiveness and salvation, knowing it may take time for the word to take root in our hearts. This rooting process is not something we dictate; it is the work of the Holy Spirit who brings us faith and grows our faith.

God calls us to a life of faith that includes patiently waiting on him and patiently serving others. Having trouble being patient with your roommate, spouse, a professor, a student, or a coworker? The list could go on and on. We don’t truly know what love is until we are loved, and 1 Corinthians clearly tells us that love is patient. As God patiently loves us, he forgives our impatience and guides us to be more patient with others. God uses us to demonstrate who he is and what Jesus did on the cross, as well as what the Spirit does in and for us. Love is patient. Christ in us is patient.

Almighty Father, thank you for all you do for me, including your patience with me. Embolden me to demonstrate my love for you through the loving patience I show others. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Becky Peters

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