Monday, February 9, 2015

Patience (The Fruit of the Spirit in You)

Patience                                                                                  Day 49

Love suffers long . . .
1 Corinthians 13:4

Many believers long to live a Spirit-guided life. They also understand that they should do so through love, the first fruit of the Spirit listed. However, in our fast-paced society, where there is pressure to respond quickly, many Christians fail in Paul’s very first description of love: suffering long or being patient.

When we truly express spiritual love, it is not selfish, material, or lustful. It is an active representation of God’s love for us. In suffering long with love, we learn to forgive multiple times, just as God patiently forgives us over and over again. We care enough to overcome being quick-tempered, just as God does not retaliate against us. We seek to better communicate our love through means that may be better received. We strive to be patient, not only with family and spouses, but with our enemies and neighbors.

Long suffering does not mean to endure abuse in order to love. We must protect ourselves from abuse (domestic, verbal, sexual, etc.), for we cannot love others if we have not learned to love ourselves. So, let us be careful not to cause others to feel abused from our lack of patience or force others to suffer in their attempts to love us. Let us act out our love with patience and be constant in our efforts to love. Let us not fail to love.

See more at www.thefruitinyou.com

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