E agape makrothumei - 1 Cor. 13:4
Love is patient. The word makrothumei, according to dictionary sources, means to be patient and not lose heart. One translation puts it like this: "Love is never tired of waiting." This form of the word is passive - it means that love doesn't want to strike out, retaliate. Jesus had every right to retaliate as He went through the trial. He was blindsided, spit upon and constantly mocked. These things strike home with me, coming from a Zockoll ancestry that carries with it a fearful streak of anger. I've heard stories and even seen first-hand my relatives' tempers flare, with regrettable results. There are times when it is hardest to keep my anger, and that's when I feel it is justified. Yes, there are times to be angry, but not in the sense of losing control or lashing out, and that's the challenge I've faced for numerous years. I see that Jesus was justified to respond in anger and even violence - but He didn't.
You face a dorm roommate who just wears your patience, and tries you just about every day of the school year. You work under a boss who seems either unduly vicious or amazingly incompetent. You find out that you were the target of gossip. All of these things ought to be responded to with a quick stroke of anger, but there is a higher response, such as found in this passage... you respond in love.
I write this because I'm encountering some situations this week where I must use this very verse as I step into meetings and encounters where I will need to rely upon the words of the Lord in order to guard my steps and my mouth.
Brad Zockoll and his family want you to pray for son Peter Zockoll who is winding down his senior year at high school and is making some serious plans for college and his career. Please pray for God's guidance in Peter's life.
