Love

 1 Corinthians 13:4 ESV

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 


You could try and put your name in the place of love and see if it fits. Are we patient and kind, not envious, boastful or arrogant? I think most of us would find such an exercise uncomfortably convicting of our lack of love.

A better way of reading this verse is to put the Lord in the place of love. After all, God is love personified. Jesus is patient and kind, he doesn't envy or boast, and isn't arrogant.

The moral of the verse isn't just to be more like Jesus. We are to trust him to be patient and kind with us. We need him to be!

We deserve for God to lose his patience with us and to condemn us as we deserve for our lack of love. Thankfully, he is abounding in lovingkindness towards us. It's not arrogant of him to say he personifies such virtues because it's true!

'Loving God, please help us to become godly. Thank you above all for your patient lovingkindness towards us in Christ, in his name, amen'.


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