Advent 09- Thank God!

Following on from yesterday's advent post, here's the second in the series of Good Things.  I want to thank God that however much I moan and grumble (and I do a lot, believe me) he still loves me.

1 Corinthians 13 is one of the most well-known passages in the Bible.  It describes love- the "most excellent way" we should treat each other.  But since "God is love" it's also a description of the way God treats us.

"Love is patient,* love is kind.  It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs...It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  Love never fails."

You can't call that a soft or easy option- to be always forgiving those who let you down or do you wrong, to not be easily angered, to always give a second chance, and a third, and a fourth.  To keep hoping for people to change even if there's nothing to give you hope.  Nor does it mean simply letting people walk all over you (a mistake I make sometimes) but willingly serving others and seeking their good before your own.

It may be the way we're supposed to treat each other, but I certainly fail a lot of the time.  So I'm very glad that God doesn't.



*'suffers long' in some versions, 'isn't selfish' in others.