Love Is Patient and Kind
“Love is patient and kind.” “Love is patient and kind.” There are times when I have to say that verse from 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 over and over to myself with the hope it will somehow sink into my heart when I am feeling anything but patient or kind.
What Is Your Reaction?
Love is patient. Love is kind. You have heard this verse so many times before. What is your reaction when you hear it? Does it help soften your heart? Or does it feel like too much pressure? Maybe it helps you recall the love in your life. You may find it stirs up a yearning for more kindness in your relationships. Oftentimes I catch myself saying, “Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, I know.” I dismiss the verse because I rarely feel like I live up to the beauty of it.
During this month of love in which we celebrate Valentine’s Day, I invite you to stop and really listen prayerfully to your reactions to this beautiful and challenging invitation to love.
How much you allow yourself to receive and offer love is related to how you view yourself, your relationship with God, and your experiences with others. Living into that triangle of interdependent love is our greatest commandment. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself. (Luke 10:27) Jesus says, Do this and you will live. (Luke 10:28)
An Exercise on Love
I invite you to spend some time with this exercise using 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 as a way to reflect on the love you have for yourself and God.
Write or read the verse with the word from scripture (Love is patient.)
Write or read the verse with your name. (Christine is patient.)
Write or read using your name for God. (My Jesus, My Lord, My Creator is patient.)
______________________ is patient;
_______________________ is kind;
______________________ is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude.
______________________ does not insist on its own way;
______________________ is not irritable or resentful;
______________________ does not rejoice in wrongdoing,
______________________ rejoices in the truth.
______________________ bears all things,
______________________ believes all things,
______________________ hopes all things,
______________________ endures all things.
This can be a challenging exercise. Please do not let it become a self-critical one. When I offer this exercise at retreats, there are people who cannot do it. That is okay. When I first did this exercise I added “will try” to every line. The point is not to dwell on what you are not doing or feeling. The intention is to start a conversation in your heart. How much love are you open to in your life? How much are you loving yourself? How connected do you feel to an unconditionally loving God?
God’s Grace
The answer to these questions will have everything to do with how much you are allowing yourself to receive God’s grace in your everyday life. The more of God’s grace you can receive, the more you can offer in love and gratitude. Wishing you a blessed Valentine’s Day filled with love and kindness.