Monday Devotion and Prayer – June 12, 2023

                               Monday Devotion and Prayer. June 12, 2023
                                         “Be Patient with One Another”

“Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.” – 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

These verses in 1 Corinthians describe love as an activity, not just feelings, emotions, and motivations. We are like little children to God, and he gives us a blueprint of how to live for him. I like to call it “growing up” in him. Children don’t know how to wait for something unless they’re taught. They don’t know how to let someone go ahead of them unless it’s modeled for them. We need to teach them kindness and gentleness, and we need to keep practicing them, too. Verses like these in 1 Corinthians give us a plan to follow, and God models it for us.

The various aspects of love described here characterize God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. To become more like Jesus, we must aim to grow in this kind of love. Throughout the Bible, we see these traits demonstrated, and then as we walk with God, we see him showing them to us. While these verses might seem like an impossible ideal, they become a guiding light in our responses toward other people.

Humankind has repeatedly turned away from him, yet God is patient. We see this from the Garden of Eden to the Flood, the desert, and the present day. Yet, he persisted in his plan to restore his relationship with us, his created beings, through the death and resurrection of Jesus. We find his heartbeat in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever would believe in him, would not perish, but have everlasting life.”

After we turn from our sinful ways and make Him Lord, he patiently walks us through the maturing process. Each day is a gift from him to learn to be more like his Son, Jesus. Oh, how he loves us. He pursues us and calls us his own. He affirms us and encourages us. At the same time, he leads us in the right ways of living.

We can cooperate with or fight him every step of the way. I loved watching the personalities of my four children develop. Some were easy to teach the right behavior and attitudes to. Others fought me at every step. God used the teaching and training of our children to teach us patience.

When we fail to live up to the definition of love, which the Apostle Paul explains so beautifully in this passage, we have this amazing opportunity to experience God’s patience with us again. God doesn’t condemn us for our failures, but through our repentance, he encourages us not to give up. We have a heavenly Father who shows unending patience toward us, and we can let this experience help us extend the same patience to others.

Heavenly Father,
I know I blew it. I lost my temper and responded in an unkind, impatient way. I’m so sorry. Will you please forgive me? I can come to you with my weaknesses and know you will make way for me to get back up again and walk in your way. Thank you, Lord! I’m so grateful you are so patient with me. Help me remember this when I feel impatience rising within my heart and empower me to choose a patient response. In Your son Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen