“Love is patient and kind… not irritable or resentful.” 1Cor. 13:1-5
Jesus, you say tons about what love is and isn’t in 1 Corinthians 13, but two contrasting couplets jump out at me this morning. Love is “patient and kind,” not “irritable or resentful.” Thank you and HELP. Of late, I’ve been experiencing a bit of ISS—”Irritable Spirit Syndrome.” That’s just putting “lipstick” on what it really is—Irritated Scotty Sinning. Because I love you and others, I don’t want to indulge this “syndrome” this week.
I hereby own and relinquish my elder-brother attitude of score-carding, unrealistic expectations, judgmentalism, and hair-trigger irritability. Not all “triggers” are bad, for one of my favorite fish to eat is Triggerfish, which my friend Captain Jody skillfully helps me catch when I’m on his boat in the 30-A Florida Gulf. But the triggering I most want in my life, Jesus, is to be triggered by your relentless kindness, steadfast love, non-anxious Spirit, and great joy.
How can that happen? By a greater preoccupation with you, Jesus—to make fellowship with you my highest priority, greatest delight, and discipline of grace. You told me and my friends, a long time ago, to abide in your love (John 15:9), to contemplate your glory (2Cor.3:18), to make our wild and wandering thoughts captive to you (2Cor.10:5).
So, by your Spirit, captivate us afresh, Jesus. Settle, center, and gentle us for the “work week.” May your mercy and grace be so compelling to us we won’t have much heart-space left for falling or jumping into “ISS.” If all it takes to wreck our day is a bad golf shot, we don’t need golf lessons but grace lessons. If all it takes to ruin our day is a little political madness, with what “king” and kingdom are we most preoccupied?
If all it takes for us to get “snarky and barky” is imperfect kids, an imperfect spouse, an imperfect boss, co-workers, clients, etc. … have mercy on us, Lord. Jesus, only you are perfect—perfectly loving and perfectly lovely. Trigger us, and trigger us some more with your truth, goodness, and beauty. So Very Amen.