Love is Patient

​In 1 Corinthians 13, the Bible teaches us that true Biblical love is patient.  This is actually a word meaning “long-tempered.” It describes a person who is wronged, has the power to retaliate, but chooses not to. One of the best examples we see of this in Scripture is in the story of Jesus’ birth. Mary and Joseph are espoused which was a legally binding commitment but, during this time frame, they were not yet together and had to remain pure.  One day, Mary communicates to Joseph that she is pregnant.  He knows that he is not the father and can only come to the conclusion which was that Mary had been unfaithful to him.  Under Jewish law, Joseph could have had Mary stoned to death. In Joseph’s mind, Mary had wronged him in a very deep way and he had the power to retaliate.  But in Matthew 1:18-19, Joseph instead chose to put Mary away quietly, without even stating the reason for ending the relationship.  Why did Joseph do this?  I believe it was because he loved her.  Folks, listen, in most every relationship we are in there will be times that we get wronged.  But if we truly have a Biblical love, even if we have the power to retaliate, we’ll choose not to because love is patient.