Love is not easily provoked, or prodded, or stirred up, or incited.
I think we get the picture here. Love is not so sensitive to criticism that it seeks to be offended.
Hmm, I wonder if we could say that ‘love has thick skin’ as a way to parrowphrase it?
I had to deal with this recently in my own life. A friend said something I took as unkind and offensive because he did not know all the facts and because he spoke on an assumption.
Do you think I did the mature, loving, and Biblical thing by having a quiet and calm conversation to sort things out? Sorry, but not this time, or so many others were the truth to be known.
No, instead I phoned and try to sort him out by pointing out his offence, all because I was too easily provoked. Later in the week I had to phone him and apologise and he lovingly and graciously accepted my apology.
What he had said was wrong, but that gave me no reason to be offended before trying to sort it out.
It is easy for us to almost look for offense in someone’s words just so we can jump to defend ourselves. We are so thin skinned that any provocation will set us off. As James wrote ‘my brethren, these things ought not so to be!’ My love should be bigger than that.
Jesus’ love certainly is.
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