Dune
Love is Patient
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.​ 1st Corinthians 13:4-7

MESSAGE:The Dune series has unique defensive technology for soldiers in combat. The shield creates a protective energy force around the body, rendering blades and melee attacks useless. It makes the soldier safer, but he isn’t invincible. When the shield’s energy is spent, the attacker can inflict wounds on his target.Pro tip: Don’t make yourself into a piñata if you want to survive.   

Why do you suppose that Paul, in his letter to the Corinthians, puts patience first when defining love? Patience is the attribute of love that can take the most damage. Patience involves two factors: waiting and reactions. The waiting is how long you must endure a relationship for the benefit of someone else. The reaction is how you respond (or don’t respond) while you are waiting.

My son takes forever to get dressed for bed. I have to patiently wait ten minutes while he dances around the room with his clothes half off. The response I need is gentle reminders and encouragements to get dressed. The response I don’t want is a threatening voice of irritation. That is patient love.

Patient love is a reflection of God’s love. He has seen you commit the same error/mistake/offense 6,000 times and that is well within the rights to use his “mean dad” voice. He doesn’t. Even though God knows better, he is willing to wait out your awful habit until his wisdom and mentoring gets through to you. Sometimes our actions have negative consequences which fast tracks the lesson we are learning, but through the process we can rely on God’s patience not to alienate us.
Research: Psalm 103:10, Romans 2:3-5

According to Romans 2:3-5, what is God’s patience trying to achieve? Does that patience last forever?

In your best assessment, is God’s patience with us an effective strategy to give him what he wants or do you think its better that he deal with our problems strongly?

How does showing patience to our loved ones benefit us?