Jon's Blog

Love is Patient.  We all hear this all the time. We might hear it at a wedding, we might hear it from our spouse, we might hear it from a friend down the street.  No matter where we hear it from, I can almost guarantee that everyone has heard this phrase uttered from someone, somewhere.  But I ask, what does it MEAN.  I mean really, what does it honestly mean.

Ephesians 4:2 - "Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love."  (NIV84)
Ephesians 4:2 - "Always be humble and gentle.  Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other's faults because of your love."  (NLT)
Ephesians 4:2 - "with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love" (NASB)

During my DC class, one of my memory verses was the NIV84 version above.  And while it might seem clear from that verse what it is talking about, I actually prefer the NLT wording of this verse a little better.  

Love is patient, yes this is true.  But what does patience mean.  Patience is being able to sustain words when needed, patience is being able to withhold arguments when needed, patience is being able to trust your spouse with all your hear and knowing that they will come through.  Patience is one of those concepts that people find the hardest to achieve.  I say that because if you are not a patient person, how hard is it for you to hold your tongue, or withhold judgement, or hang back a little while and wait?  

Every one of us is flawed in some way.  We cannot deny this.  No matter how we look at ourselves, you can spot something flawed about yourself.  But, I bet, that you can point out many more things about others that are flawed.  It is in our nature to point out flaws of others.  Matthew 7:3-5 states "And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye?  Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye."  Why is it that we as a society are quick to point out others flaws, but yet, we fail to realize that we ourselves may have the same flaw, or bigger flaws?

So how does Matthew 7 relate to Ephesians 2?  I think that in someways, we aren't patient enough.  We are always quick to pass judgment on others if they are not doing something that we feel should be done sooner.  But in reality, are they doing everything they can do?  There comes a time and a place where the patience will wear thin, I will agree with that, however, Love in its very nature is patient.  And this isn't any old kind of patience.  This is godly patience.

God isn't going to chase you to become a follower.  He wants followers, he doesn't want fans.  So, when you are ready to accept Christ, then that is on your own terms, and in your own time.  As a result, God is showing a type of patience that no one can match.  How long can you wait for your friend/spouse to do something you have asked them to do?  How long can you wait for your child to begin to do what you ask them to do and not to question why?  How long can you wait for anything?  How long can you wait for that promotion in the job you love?  How long can you wait?

Love IS patient.  Dictionary.com defines the word patience as follows:   "the quality of being patient, as the bearing of provocation, annoyance, misfortune, or pain, without complaint, loss of temper, irritation, or the like."  

I am sure you have experience annoyance, misfortune, or pain within your marriage.  I am sure you have experienced one of those items in a friendship or even a family tie.  I am sure that everyone has experience one of these in just about ANY relationship you might have.  But how did you handle it?  Did you blow your top?  Did you blow up?  Did you throw a tantrum?  

I think the bible is pretty clear on the road we need to take here.  I think the bible is outlining a concept to us that is very easy to think about, but next to impossible to take action on.  Think about how often you might have that short fuse that is just about to go off due to annoyance or misfortune.  Can you put it out?  Or are you going to let it go off?

Patience is probably one of the hardest concepts when it comes to Love, especially in a marriage.  I don't speak of this because I am perfect.....I AM FAR FROM IT!  However, I speak about patience because I feel that without patience, no marriage can survive.  I feel that patience is so important that it was Day 1 in The Love Dare for a reason.  I don't find it just a coincidence.  

Patience.  Are you patient?  Are you humble enough to be patient?  Are you humble enough to be gentle?  Are you patient enough to show humility and gentleness towards your spouse?  Are you patient with yourself?

Love is Patient, are you?   

A while back, my wife and our life group did a study called The Love Dare Bible Study.  Some of you might have heard of it as The Love Dare was featured in the movie Fireproof.  During that study, and one of the last things I did was to make up these small cards which outlined each day in a simple reminder of what Love is, and a bible reference to where it is mentioned in the bible about what Love is.  For example Day 1 is, Love is Patient with a bible reference of Ephesians 4:2.

Over the course of the last year I have gotten further and further away from my time with God and spending time reading the bible.  I have tried a bible reading plan, that quickly got derailed. I got derailed ever since I stopped another bible study I took through Southeast called DC.  I took a break, however, my break is continuing and it is absolutely hurting me inside.

As a result, I recently found this card I made up during The Love Dare, and thought to myself, what a perfect way to try to get back into things.  So, as a challenge to myself, and a challenge for something that I have wanted to do for a long time, I am going to be writing a brief blog post about each day and some thoughts I have about each verse. 

I am doing this namely for myself, but I feel that anything I write, might be useful to someone else.  So, if you find anything helpful, then please view it as a gift to you. 

Love is such a funny thing.  One minute you think you might have it all wrapped up, the next minute, it's as if you have no clue what you are talking about.  We are all on the roller coaster of Love, and with each twist and turn, we always get thrown for a loop sometimes.  Let's just hope that we can all get grounded on this concept of Love, albeit for a brief few minutes :) 

PS.  I do NOT consider myself any sort of expert on the bible, nor do I consider myself any sort of expert on Love.  I am merely writing what I feel about each day, and what I get out of each day.  I consider myself an average Joe writing about these passages, and putting my thoughts into a blog form.