The AMI QT Devotionals for March 28-April 2 are provided by Doug Tritton. Doug, a graduate of University of Pennsylvania, is currently serving as a staff at Symphony Church (Boston) while pursuing a M.Div. at Gordon Conwell Seminary. He is married to Cindy and they are proud parents of Audrey.
DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT FOR TODAY
Patient Love
1 Corinthians 13:4
Love is patient
I remember when I first became a Christian and was reading through 1 Corinthians 13, thinking, “Why is ‘patient’ the first description of love?” Most of the descriptions are negatives (e.g., love does NOT envy or boast), and the other positive description that is paired with patient is “kind,” which makes a lot of sense for describing love. If you are a loving person, that simply means you are kind and nice, right? That’s often what we are taught by the world, where love is defined more by action.
But when you think about it, patience captures that quality of love that is so often forgotten or underappreciated—the idea of enduring, committed love – agape love in Greek, or hesed love in Hebrew. When we are younger, it can be easy to underappreciate the patience of love, but as we get older—get married, have children—the power and endurance of love is most often shown in patience. Even in the past few months, as a new father, my patience has at times been tested with my daughter Audrey: Why won’t she eat? Why won’t she stop crying? Out of impatience I get angry and frustrated with her. But love shows a different way. Love is patient. And so I am stretched to love, to love her like my Heavenly Father loves me.
Ultimately, God’s patience with us was the highest mark of His love. He was patient with us, despite our sins, to the point of dying on the cross for us. That is the patient love of our God. Likewise, He calls us to show this same type of patient love in all our relationships—whether in family, church, or elsewhere. As Jesus says, by this love, all people will know that we are His disciples (John 13:35).
Prayer: Lord, thank You for your patience towards us. Though we have wronged You time and time again, Your love stays the same. So just as You’ve been patient with us, help us to be patient with those around us. We know we will be wronged, but help us to still love, with committed, unchanging love, just as Your love for us is committed and unchanging. Amen.
Bible Reading for Today: Matthew 18
LUNCH BREAK STUDY
Read Romans 12:9-10: Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.
Questions to Consider
- What do you think it means for love to be genuine?
- How do you outdo others in showing honor?
- How can you better love those around you today?
Notes
- This is tricky to really grasp. In some ways, being patient, as talked about this morning, does not feel genuine at times. Sometimes it feels like we are faking it. But genuine love is really admitting that the love we give is flawed, and that we need God’s love to work through us. His is the real steadfast, patient love, and it’s His love we need to give to others, not our flawed love.
- I love this verse. If only we actually tried to outdo one another in showing honor, we’d see an end to broken relationships. Instead, we often try to outdo one another in revenge and hostility! How can you outdo others in your life at showing honor and patient love?
- Look back at your morning – have you been patient in love? Or has love been a distant afterthought? After lunch today, let’s try to show true brotherly affection to those we encounter, showing the patient, enduring love to those around us.
EVENING REFLECTION
Ask God for more patience. If you have been impatient with anyone today, take time to ask God for forgiveness and grace to rebuild that relationship. Reflect upon God’s patient love to you, and ask God for the power to love others in the same way.
When I was in high school, I played the trombone—and the trombone is known for having the capacity to be very loud. I remember one orchestra concert that had an epic ending, with a long note that would be held by the entire orchestra. But in my immaturity and pride, I saw that note as my moment to shine. So, during the concert, while many people were watching and listening, once we got to that epic note, I let loose with all the sound I could muster out of the trombone. It was so loud that even the conductor was thrown off and forgot to give the cue to move on from that note!
Today’s AMI QT Devotional is provided by Jabez Yeo of TRPC, New York. His devotional is based off material from Serge’s Sonship program. You can click 
An inspiring hero of the faith for me is Corrie ten Boom, who was imprisoned for helping over 800 Jews escape the Holocaust. After the war, Corrie repeatedly preached about forgiveness, and after one talk, one of her prison guards, who did not recognize her, thanked her and held out his hand. Crying to God for help, Corrie shook his hand and declared that she forgave him. She then wrote in The Hiding Place, “I discovered that it is not on our forgiveness…that the world’s healing hinges, but on His. When He tells us to love our enemies, He gives along with the command, the love itself.”
In an article on NPR.org entitled “Getting Some ‘Me’ Time: Why Millennials Are So Individualistic,” it states: “They are a class of self-centered, self-absorbed, selfie-snapping 20-somethings. This is how many critics have come to define the millennial generation. But hold on, isn’t this what was said about every generation when it was young? Minus the selfies of course.” Individualism has long been considered the hallmark of America. It is appealing because we do not like to depend on anyone else—meaning, we like self-sufficiency.
If you are a college basketball fan, you know that March Madness is taking place now. It is the biggest and greatest tournament in college sports where the top 64 teams compete to become college basketball champions. Every year, without fail, there is always one team that surprises everyone – an underdog or unknown college team that somehow make it far in the tournament. Often, the reason why these underdog teams do so well is because of how well they play as a unit. Where they lack in talent, they make up in playing as a unified team, which often brings success.
When we look at the topic of spiritual gifts, we see that they have two major purposes. First, the gifts are given to edify the body of Christ. God has individually given us specific and unique gifts to minister to one another. That is why it is so important for every believer to be part of and actively involved in the local church body so that our gifts are used to their full potential. Second, the gifts are given to confirm the Word of God. The Apostle Paul addresses spiritual gifts in his letters (Romans 12, Ephesians 4), to instruct us how the body of Christ should function and how we are to participate in building it up.
If you ever played organized team sports, you know the importance of finding your specific role on the team according to your abilities. Growing up, I played Little League baseball competitively, and I got to be on some winning teams. What made some of these teams successful was a common understanding that the pitcher, catcher, first basemen, and all the other positions understood what they were good at and also knew the role they played for the betterment of the team.
A few weeks ago, my oldest daughter asked me, “What’s the purpose of daylight savings time?” At first, I gave her a general answer, but after doing some research, I came back and told her the history, rationale, and purpose of daylight savings. I’m not sure it actually satisfied her question, but at least she has a better understanding of it!
The AMI QT Devotionals from March 20-26 are provided by Pastor David Kwon of Journey Community Church in Raleigh, North Carolina. 
Today’s passage is difficult to interpret, and the temptation might be to look at what Paul says in the opening verses of 1 Corinthians 11 as entirely cultural, and as a result, dismiss what he is saying. Without denying the text’s complexities, we can begin with what is clear in today’s passage.
A famous author once said, “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.” We all have people and role models in our lives where we want to strive to be like them in their character, abilities or even their way of life. In high school, I played for my varsity golf team, and I remember wanting to be like my golf coach in many ways. He was a talented teacher and golfer, and knew how to specifically help each of my teammates with their swings and pointed out areas of improvement. He also taught us to play the game with honor and ingrained in us the importance of losing graciously. We were told to respect our opponents and congratulate them, even when we lost. It’s something that I remember even today.