Twelve Days of Lovemas | Day 1 Patient

In the last blog post I wrote, I made a case for devoting the Christmas season to Jesus by loving those that we come in contact with. I carefully laid out why we should choose to make a special effort to love during the month of December, but I didn't outline specific ways to do this. So in light of my latest challenge to myself and anyone else brave enough to take it, I present the Twelve Days of Lovemas! 

Tada!

Love is a word that is thrown around quite a bit. We love cake. We love coffee. We love Grandma. And we also love our significant others. But the Twelve Days of Lovemas are not centered around any of our colloquial definitions of love. The ordinary interpretations that we use for love are fleeting, unpredictable, unreliable and shallow. This advent series is centered around 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 in which Paul lines out the characteristics of love. 

Before we get into that, though, I think it is important to mention the context of this angel-punch of a passage. Paul had just finished talking to the church about being unified. He likened them to a body; all being different, yet all essential parts that come together to complete the entire body of Christ. Then he goes on.

1 Corinthians 12:27 says "27 Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. 28 And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? 31 But earnestly desire the higher gifts.

And I will show you a still more excellent way."

I love that. And I will show you still a more excellent way. Paul had just outlined to them some of the different gifts that the Holy Spirit has for us to operate in. Teaching, healing, administering; they're all  wonderful and exciting ways for us to live for God in what we do. The lineup would seem to be complete; then Paul says, "But wait, there's more!"

1 Corinthians 13:1-3 continues on, "If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned,[a] but have not love, I gain nothing." 

Paul is really trying to get our attention here with some obvious repetition. He might as well have written *alarm sound* in his letter before these verses. He is saying, "Don't miss this! Because any of the gifts that I just mentioned-the things that you are arguing on which is best- mean nothing if your actions are not rooted in love". Wow. What a statement. If anything that we do that is done without love is futile, then the urgency to learn what love is and what it is not would be disastrous to ignore. 

And that brings us to our Lovemas passage, 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. You'll notice that it says patient on the lovely Lovemas picture. That's because the first characteristic that Paul chooses to list is patient. "Love is patient". I wonder why he listed it first? Maybe it just came to Paul's mind first, or possibly it was first because it was one of the most difficult attributes to actually live out. Or maybe he was hinting to the church in Corinth how difficult they were. Either way, our first day is on patience.

According to dictionary.com, patience is defined as "the quality of being patient, as the bearing of provocation, annoyance, misfortune, or pain, without complaint, loss of temper, irritation, or the like." Hmm. You know, at first glance, this sounds pretty unappealing. I mean, when I think patience, I think about waiting on macaroni in the microwave, not enduring pain or misfortune. I thought patience was more about waiting than anything else. And look at the last part! Patience is two parted, supposedly! Without complaint, loss of temper, irritation, or the like? You know what, lets just close shop. Lovemas is off. This is too hard.

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But that's not an option, is it? See, because God first loved us. He first showed us patience. God took on all of the provocation, annoyance, misfortune, and pain that we caused and did not complain. He did not loose his temper. God did not simply get irritated, or even the like. God's response to us was patience. And he was patient unto the point of sending his son to die for us.

So how do we do this, this love thing. Because that is something else! This two parted patience definition is blowing my picture of loving others out of the water. How does one choose patience in the face of annoyance? It's easy to say a hearty, "amen" and vow to show people the patience this holiday season. But the second someone decides to cut me off on my way to the mall, or the item I rush ordered online gets addressed incorrectly, that word patience takes a Christmas vacation from my vocabulary. And I get it. This is me. I am speaking from experience when I talk about having the best of intentions but having know idea where to start. I will be the first to admit that patience might have been listed first by Paul because God knew that I was coming. So I have two additional p-words for us: prayer and practice.

Like any new habit, loving others takes time to become successfully integrated into our daily actions. If one wants to loose weight, it will take time to get into the habit of exercising often and eating right. Patience is no different. As God helps us change our actions and changes our hearts, there will be many times when we will miss an opportunity to be patient with someone. Thank God for those times, because before starting on this Lovemas adventure, it might not have even occurred to you that there was an opportunity to be missed. Simply stand up, dust of your britches, and rest assured that this month, there will be even more chances ahead of you to practice patience.

And we must make sure that practicing isn't where we stop. Practicing these new concepts without prayer would lead to eventual burnout. Just as any action that we do that isn't rooted in love is fruitless, any attempts to change our hearts without God are also going to fall flat. Apart from God, we can accomplish nothing. The Holy Spirit is the one who can work miracles, and the changing of hearts towards God and his ways are no exception. 

When saying yes to the Twelve Days of Lovemas, the best way we can go forward on each of the characteristics listed in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 is to pray and ask God for the strength and ability.  It is a challenge, but when we ask God for help, he is faithful. It may not be immediate, but God will open our eyes, and open our hearts upon our honest and humble request. And when we put our trust in the one who was patient enough with us to say, "Just wait. I'm not done with them yet. Just wait and see what I do in Bethlehem", we be able to walk in a love that mirrors that expressed the first Christmas day.

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Thank you for reading! I would love your feedback! What are some of your stories on patience? Feel free to comment your thoughts and ideas in the comment section bellow. You can subscribe by email for content on every Sunday, Tuesday, and Friday as often as possible.

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Above all, know that you are loved.

Happy Sunday!