“…walk in a manner worthy of the
Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and
increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all power, according to
His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience,
joyously” (Colossians 1:10-11)
The fourth “fruit of the Spirit”
mentioned by Paul the Apostle in Galatians 5:22, is “patience,”
also called “longsuffering.” It is “self-restraint in the face of provocation,” as described
by Vine, in his work, “Expository Dictionary of New
Testament Words.” He said, patience “is the
opposite of anger and is associated with mercy.” If someone hits you in
the face or does something equally disturbing, you are very slow to hit them
back and probably won’t retaliate at all. “Patience”
is the gift of God to someone who is not naturally patient, and in addition the
Spirit also reveals when and how it is appropriate to be patient. There are
times when you DO hit back at the one who attacks you, and it is God Himself who
will show you the difference. We are not merely pacifists; we follow the Lord.
“Patience” or “longsuffering” is from the Greek language used in most of
the New Testament. A similar word in the Hebrew is found in Numbers 14:18 and it
reveals something of God, something about people. Here’s what Moses, the author
of the Book of Numbers, observed about the God he served and followed: “The Lord is (patient) and abundant
in lovingkindness, forgiving iniquity and transgression… visiting the iniquity
of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generations.”
Human impatience is like a disease that will infect our children. The verse also
says He will “by no means clear the guilty," but it
is revealed in Isaiah 53:6 that He has “laid on
(Christ) the iniquity of us all.”
We tend to like it that “the Lord
is slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness,” and it’s reasonable to
be delighted that God “forgives iniquity and transgression.”
But when we consider that our little ones can become victims, it is simply
astonishing that our bad habits will fall on our children, grandchildren, and
even to our great-great grandkids as well! If we are impatient, excitable,
explosive, unkind and abusive; our children, who suffer under our so-called
leadership, will become like us. The time to let Him change us – is now.
The impatience that passes to our children is a human
problem. And it’s important to understand that we can stop the process and limit
the damage by allowing God’s “patience,” His “longsuffering” in Christ to grow in our hearts. Whereas
before we may have been explosive; in Him we find God’s patience growing in us.
We're like musical instruments being prepared for a symphony. We don’t have to
understand; we just play the music.
David Mc Casland told of a conversation with Luis
Antonio Rojas, a musician in the Mexico City Philharmonic Orchestra. He was told
that “the finest instruments are made of wood that has
been allowed to age naturally to remove the moisture. You must age the wood for
80-years then play the instrument for 80-years before it reaches its best sound.”
Rojas continued, “A craftsman must use wood cut and aged
by someone else, and he will never see any instrument reach its peak during his
own lifetime.”
Each of us is being readied for events that are larger
than we understand and greater than we know. We are indeed like the members of a
symphony orchestra, functioning in relation to other musicians we don’t see or
hear, producing “music” that is often played in the future and in eternity; not
merely on this earth. The part given to us is revealed, but we seldom see the
whole “orchestra” and it is a mistake if our need to understand becomes greater than
the patient acceptance of God’s will in Christ.
Abraham is referred to in Scripture as a model of what
faith is all about. In Romans 4:11, he is called “the
father of all who believe.” And he is also the perfect example of
patience. He lived with his family in a place called “Ur,”
a well-fortified city on the Euphrates River in what is now Iraq. God
spoke to the man, whether quietly to his heart or audibly in his hearing, we do
not know, but God did speak and Abram, as he was called then, did hear. Here’s
what was said: “Get out of your country, from your kindred
and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you” (Genesis
12:1). Abraham’s response? – he went.
He responded in faith to the call of God. And note
carefully in Genesis 12:1 that the man did not know specifically where he was
going. He just left. His father, Terah, who went with him, probably was not very
encouraging about Abraham’s decision. He had a “house,”
a home that he would leave. He did not have the faith of Abraham, for as Joshua
later observed, Terah was an idolater – he “served other
gods” (Joshua 24:2).
And note, by the way, if you think you are too old or
too anything to respond to the Lord’s call, Abraham was 75-years old at the
moment he left. When the Lord speaks to us, calls us, directs us – just say,
“yes” and then go! You will “please Him in all respects”
when you do, as in our Scripture for today, and you will set out, as Abraham
did, on a path you do not know, learning patience on the way. And your journey
will contain – joy!
The promise of God to Abraham continued: “I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your
name great…” (Genesis 12:2). The Lord also informed this childless man on a
number of occasions that he would have a son. When he finally got to the land,
he was told that it would be his. Yet he remained without a son for many years,
and he never owned more than a tiny part of the immense land that was promised
to him.
He patiently accepted what God actually gave him,
trusting that the will of His Lord would ultimately unfold. He is the perfect
example of today’s Scripture. He walked “in a manner
worthy of the Lord,” pleasing “Him in all respects,
bearing fruit in every good work.” He did not have the resources we have,
and yet he patiently increased “in the knowledge of God.”
He understood that the “power” to bring the
promises to pass was not in him, but was “according to
(God’s) glorious might.” He learned, as we must
learn, to walk in “all steadfastness and patience,”
and his journey led to – joy! (Colossians 1:10-11).
Like the violin that does not mature for 80-years after
we fashion it, we sometimes do not personally see the results of saying “yes” to
God. Like Abraham, the fulfillment may be in the future. Yet we learn
patience and have joy right now because He is with us.
Lord, I trust in You. Give me patience to follow
where You lead. In Jesus Name. Amen.
