Digging Deeper – Love and Long-Suffering Go Hand-in-Hand
Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.
Ephesians 4:2 (NLT)
LOVE AND LONG-SUFFERING GO HAND-IN-HAND
There are two different types of patience spoken about in Scripture. One is the patience needed in a season of waiting. The other is equally challenging: when we have had our fill of someone’s attitude or behavior; or, in our righteous indignation our fuse has neared its end. This is known as long-suffering.
Webster’s Dictionary defines long-suffering this way: “patiently enduring lasting offense or hardship.”
In the Bible, long-suffering is comprised of two Greek words meaning “long” and “temper.” The Lord is often described as being long-suffering in Scripture, particularly in the Old Testament. Time and again, we see His people (Israel) falling into a vicious cycle: walking with God > pulling away from God > God’s hand of blessing being removed > hardship > repentance > God’s mercy and compassion (REPEAT).
The Lord is a self-proclaimed jealous God! He has our very best in mind, and when we stray, it hurts Him deeply. He will discipline us and allow painful consequences to re-direct our paths, but in his loving-kindness, He will eventually comfort us and restore us if we turn to Him.
If you have ever weathered a storm of life in which a loved one has made a series of poor choices, you know exactly how brutal long-suffering can be. We want so desperately for our family member or friend to get on a healthy path – one with direction, joy, and meaning – one with God at the helm! In the meantime, however, we suffer, not knowing when the pain will end, and if this person will ever make a lasting change.
So, what’s our response in the interim? To love them. As the Apostle Paul wrote in the scripture above, we are to “be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.” But we’ve got to take it a step further and ask this question: Why is love the proper response?
In a different letter – one he wrote to the Church at Colossae – Paul explains why we must choose love over anger:
Make allowance for each other’s faults and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. Colossians 3:13-14 (NLT)
It can be tough to reconcile this, but you’re not excusing someone’s actions by loving them! But you are letting them know that love is more powerful than whatever has led them to this difficulty. And, as we read in yet another of Paul’s letters: love never fails.
C.A. Phillips serves as Communications Pastor and Director of Men’s Groups at NorthStar Church. He is a graduate of the Henry W. Grady School of Journalism at the University of Georgia, and he loves the Dawgs and the Atlanta Braves. He has two (grown) boys and lives in Kennesaw with his wife, Amy, and their German Shepherd, Abby.
