For most of my life, I had thought about patience as the ability to wait without complaining. Like when I’m driving behind an Amish buggy without an opportunity to pass. Or when I’m waiting for my four-year-old to complete his thought. Of course these situations can be a test of patience. But when Paul says “Love is patient,” he is getting at something a bit deeper.
It is easy to think of kindness as merely being nice to someone. Like letting the woman with only two items in her hands go in front of me with my full shopping cart. Or giving my son the last strip of bacon off of my own plate. (Can you believe I actually did that?) Sure, these are acts of kindness, but when Paul says “Love is kind,” he is taking it a bit further.
