LOVE is Patient and Kind
I heard a story a while ago that brought home to me how we often make a judgment call about situations or people without knowing all the facts. And how wrong we can be.
A man was on a bus. When the bus stopped, a father with several children got on. The children were very unruly. They wouldn’t sit still; they kept changing seats and were fighting. You know . . . all the annoying things that children do when parents don’t control them.
The father had taken the seat beside the first man, who was getting more annoyed by the minute, thinking, “Why doesn’t the father say something to control his children?” Finally, he couldn’t take it any longer and he said to the father, “Your children are out of control. Why don’t you say something?”
“Yes,” the father replied, “I suppose I should. But you see, we have just come from the hospital. Their mother died this morning, and they don’t know how to handle it, and nor do I.” OUCH!
So often, our judgment calls are based on outward appearances. We make them on hearsay, or base them on our limited experience. We don’t think the best of people.
God on the other hand looks at the person’s heart. Isaiah 11:3 has this to say about Christ, “He will not judge by the way things look. He will not judge by what people say.” The longer Christ is in control of our lives, the more we will become like Him and the less likely we will be to make quick judgments or believe negative rumors about people.
LORD JESUS, Your love is perfect. Thank you for being so very patient and kind with us. When You judge and discipline us, it is because You have all the facts and it is for our good. Love always rules everything You do.
We, on the other hand, are so often harsh and self-righteous when analysing the actions of others. We confess our critical and unkind attitudes to You today and ask Your Spirit to enable us to be patient and kind. Amen.
