After That Ye Have Suffered a While
The sermon teaches that we can learn to love through suffering and that this love is characterized by patience, kindness, and endurance.
A.B. Simpson emphasizes the transformative power of suffering in cultivating love, joy, and other fruits of the Spirit. He encourages believers to view trials as a school of love, where enduring hardships deepens their relationship with Christ and teaches them to embody the characteristics of love described in 1 Corinthians 13. Simpson asserts that through suffering, believers can learn to be kind and patient, reflecting the heart of Jesus. He reminds us that true love is marked by endurance and kindness, and that with Christ's love within us, we can navigate any circumstance with grace.
Text
Are we learning love in the school of suffering? Are our hearts being mellowed and deepened by the summer heat of trial until the fruit of the Spirit-love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance-is ripening for the harvest of His coming, and our sufferings are easily borne for His sake? This is the school of love, and the lessons make Him unutterably more dear to our hearts and us to His. In this way only can we learn with Him the heavenly charity which suffers long, and is kind.
We see that the very first and the very last features of the face of love, as delineated in Paul's portrait of it (1 Corinthians 13), are marks of pain and patient suffering-suffers long, endureth all things.
So let us learn in the school of love to suffer, to be kind and to endure all things. Surely it will not be hard to love through every circumstance when it is the heart of Jesus within us that will love and continue to love to the very end. I want the love that suffers and is kind, That envies not nor vaunts its pride of fame. Is not puffed up, does not discourteous act, Is not provoked, nor seeks its own to claim.
Sermon Outline
- The School of Love
- The Fruit of the Spirit
- The School of Love
- Marks of Pain and Patient Suffering
- Suffers long, endureth all things
- Heavenly charity which suffers long and is kind
Key Quotes
“Are we learning love in the school of suffering?” — A.B. Simpson
“In this way only can we learn with Him the heavenly charity which suffers long, and is kind.” — A.B. Simpson
“Surely it will not be hard to love through every circumstance when it is the heart of Jesus within us that will love and continue to love to the very end.” — A.B. Simpson
Application Points
- We can learn to love through every circumstance when it is the heart of Jesus within us that will love and continue to love to the very end.
- Heavenly charity is the love that suffers long and is kind.
- We should strive to suffer long and endure all things, just like Jesus.