God is _____? Part 1

   What is God like?  There are tons of answers.  He is perfect.  He is just.  He is righteous.  He is pure.  He is (I could go on and on and on)...the only God!  The Creator of the universe!  The Maker of all that is good! I think that sometimes it is hard for a human to really understand who God is.  After all, we are not anything like Him at all, are we?  As humans, we can never truly be perfect, just, righteous, or pure.  That is, we can't be any of those...unless God is on our side.

     One of the basic principles that students of the Bible learn is this:  God is love.  (1 John 4:8)  One way to study what God is really like is to study love.  The series that I am going to be blogging on (God is ____?) will bring you through parts of 1 Corinthians 13, to explain what Love is.  In the meantime, I think it will show you what God is.  If God is Love, then we have to have more love to have more of God!  Let us look at 1 Corinthians 13, seeing exactly what God--our Creator, our Savior, and our Sustainer--is like, and how we can grow to be more like Him.  Let's dive in!

     Love is patient...(1 Corinthians 13:4)   Wow...already the terms of Love seem to be hopeless to reach!  Patience...it is something almost everyone could use more of.  It can look impossible to be patient at times.  If God is patient, and we are supposed to be in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17), then we also should be patient.  All the time.  

    So what exactly is patience, you might ask?  Is patience only being able to stand in a line waiting for your turn without pouting?  Um...no.  According to the dictionary, patience is "the quality of being patient, as the bearing of provocation, annoyance, misfortune, pain, without complaint, loss of temper, irritation, or the like."  (Dictionary.com)  It also means to be diligent and even-tempered.  If you look at that list, I am sure you can see something that makes you impatient.  It could be when you meet that person who really makes you annoyed.  It could be when you are forced to wait in a traffic jam.  It could be when your computer shuts off in the middle of an important assignment.  There are thousands of scenarios that could push your patience back and make anger come out instead.  Yet, as Christians, we need to be patient at all times.  The only way to do this is to ask God.  He can give you perfect patience.

     Even though God can give you patience, the times where we ignore His prodding is numerous.  We have to do our part by remembering.  Remembering to be patient.  Remembering to be loving.  Remembering to be like Jesus.  And listen to His voice!

     Maybe writing yourself a note would help.  You could stick it in your pocket and remember it when you are about to get angry.  That is the best way for me to remember, but you may have a better way for your own personality.  Just remember, nothing can push your patience away and replace it with anger unless you let it.  Nothing.  Keep asking Jesus for more of Himself in your life, keep pushing forward towards Him, and He will never let you down.


   How do you remember to have patience?  What has helped you in your Christian walk to live your life more like Jesus?  Comment below!