Charity suffereth long, and is kind…
I Corinthians 13:4a
I Corinthians 13 has often been called the “love chapter” and is used to describe love or used as poetic verses about loving people. Phrases from it are printed on wall decorations and notebooks, but how often is it stressed as the way to know how to give and live out godly love to others? Sometimes familiarity with a passage turns it from being a life principle into being a nice platitude that rolls off the tongue; but powerful truths are presented in I Corinthians 13, and we all could probably use a refresher in them.
There are four words for love (translated here as charity) used in the Bible: philia, storge, eros, and agape. The type of love spoken of in I Corinthians 13:4 is agape love. Here is an excellent definition of agape love.
“It is love that loves without changing.
It is a self-giving love that gives without demanding or expecting repayment.
It is love so great that it can be given to the unlovable or unappealing.
It is love that loves even when it is rejected.
Agape love gives and loves because it wants to;
it does not demand or expect repayment from the love given.
It gives because it loves; it does not love in order to receive.
The word has little to do with emotion; it has much to do with
self-denial for the sake of another.” David Guzik
So, applying this definition to verse 4… Charity suffereth long and is kind… immediately draws my thought to the Lord Jesus. He gave of himself knowing that we couldn’t repay. He loved us when we were unlovable. He loves those who reject him. Jesus chose to become a man and die to provide a way to Heaven for us, and to him it was the joy that was set before him.
Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:2
His love suffered long and endured the cross for us; why do we not consider that our lack of long-suffering towards others paints us as far from sacrificing like Jesus did, far from selflessness, far from agape love?
Long-suffering, kind love puts up with repeated offenses or inconveniences and does it with kindness. It gives without expectation, forgives without an apology, is kind when tempted with irritation, and denies self to love another. To be honest, none of those things come naturally because our human nature always wants the opposite: to be receiving, unforgiving, irritated, and selfish!
Love that is kind doesn’t always have to be coupled with the negative circumstances that long-suffering infers. Genuine kindness is thinking, speaking, or acting towards others in a gentle, selfless way. It’s a smile, an encouraging word, or just plain common courtesy given without expectation. Kindness is not natural; it’s practiced, purposeful, and developed through loving like Christ would love. There is no better example of kind, long-suffering love than Jesus. A study of his life and words as recorded in the Scriptures can only reinforce the principles of I Corinthians 13 and illuminate the path of agape love towards others.
And be ye kind to one another, tenderhearted,
forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake
hath forgiven you. Ephesians 4:32
