pursue,” metaphorically, “to seek eagerly, earnestly endeavor to acquire.” “Righteousness” here is not in the Pauline dogmatic sense, but as in Ephesians 5:9, refers to moral rectitude. “Love” here is agapē (ἀγαπη), God’s love as produced in the heart of the yielded believer by the Holy Spirit. “Patience” is hupomonē (ὑπομονη) “steadfastness, constancy, endurance.” Thayer defines it: “in the N.T., the characteristic of a man who is unswerved from his deliberate purpose and his loyalty to faith