Love

what it is

Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 13:4

Paul’s great literary masterpiece on love begins with a simple statement about what love is:

Love is patient and kind…

It is helpful to note that these two attributes, patience, and kindness, are also listed as the fruit of the Spirit along with love. I tend to think that THE fruit of the Spirit is love and the other attributes like patience and kindness are different facets of that love. That understanding is supported by 1 Corinthians 13.

Why do patience and kindness top the list here? First, I don’t mean to suggest that Paul put together a top ten list, but I do think it is of some value to notice what he comes out of the chute with. Love has to do with relationships. It has to do with our inner response to others that will express itself at some point in an outward fashion. And that is an important distinction to make. The first three verses of this chapter are about how outer actions can be a façade covering an unloving heart.

My point is, patience and kindness will reveal themselves outwardly, but they are first inward attitudes that are an outgrowth of a loving heart. If we thought of love as the trunk of a tree and patience and kindness being two of the branches shooting out from it, and the Holy Spirit being the source of life that flows up into the tree and animates it, we might be close to the idea here.

So, why patience and kindness? I think love, genuine love that is a fruit of the Spirit, is tested and revealed most by what we might call “challenging people.” It makes itself known in the face of others who disappoint us or frustrate us in some way. The loving person will also be tender and have sympathy for the plight of others. The only opportunity we have to practice kindness is when we encounter suffering in others. The only opportunity we have to practice patience is when someone gets in the way of our plans or our schedule. It is during those encounters that we discover how much the love of Christ has taken root in our hearts.