Love Is Patient

My wife Cathe and I spent three years courting. And we broke up three times. It was an annual event for us, really, and they were the big, I-never-want-to-see-you-again kind of breakups. Then we would get back together again. We got it out of our systems ahead of time. We had three years to really see each other in almost every situation for the most part.

If you’re really in love with someone, if your love is real, then it will stand the test of time. The Bible says, “Many waters cannot quench love, nor can rivers drown it” (Song of Solomon 8:7 NLT).

And for those who are single, don’t think that if you marry someone, you’re going to fix them. Women, maybe there’s a bad boy that you’re planning to fix. You want to give him a little culture and make him a better guy and a more responsible person. News flash: He may get worse than he is right now. If you can’t love him the way that he is, then maybe you shouldn’t marry him.

And once you’ve married someone, you need to be patient with that person, because marriage will try your patience. Love is patient. In what is known as the definitive chapter on love, we’re told that “love is patient and kind” (1 Corinthians 13:4 NLT). The word patient, or literally, long-tempered, is common in the New Testament. It’s used almost exclusively for being patient with people rather than circumstances or events. Jesus was the personification of this love. God’s love in us can be inconvenienced. It can be taken advantage of. It’s patient.

We all are sinners, and we will do unlovable things to each other. If you really love your husband or wife, then you’ll be patient with him or her.