1 Corinthians 13:4-7 English Standard Version
4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
This is how love acts. This does not say anything about what happens to the recipient of God’s perfect love. That comment is found in the first epistle of John.
1 John 4:19 English Standard Version (ESV) We love because he first loved us.
His perfect love abiding in us creates a love response. His love in us changes us. We may not have achieved the Oneness of the Trinity but as we grow in Christ and maintain this relationship with our Lord, we will discover how much He actually has changed us from the inside out.
1 Corinthians 2:16 English Standard Version (ESV) “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.
A man and wife in a healthy loving relationship will over time begin to say the same thing at the same time under certain circumstances because they have begun to think alike. Having the mind of Christ is much like that if we do what it takes to keep a healthy loving relationship with our Lord.
It takes time to build that kind of relationship and time is on His side. He is patient and kind. We might not start out that way but fostering this loving relationship with our Lord helps us to become patient and kind people.
Each of the attributes of agape love listed in 1 Corinthians 13 is an attribute which can and should be developed in us because of His indwelling love. But it takes time and may be why patience is listed first.