In His Image: Patience – Part 2

This is part two of three covering a short talk on the topic of how we should reflect the patience of the Lord. Part one can be found here.

As I was reading more about patience, particularly those Scriptures where it is explicitly mentioned, two different portions of Paul’s letters were rather striking: Colossians 3:12-13 says “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.” And in Galatians 5:22-23, we read, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” One of these passages says patience is something we are to put on, a deliberate choice; and the other says it is the fruit of the Spirit, outside of our effort. Those seem to be diametrically opposed to one another, so which is it? Is it something we do, or something for which we must rely on the Holy Spirit to do in us? In truth, I believe it to be both. God’s common grace to mankind means that even unsaved people, let alone those who are covered by the atoning blood of Christ, make good decisions on occasion. But as the Holy Spirit works in us, transforming us into the image of God and sanctifying us, we are further enabled to choose differently. The decision, as it were, to put on patience becomes easier as the Spirit works in us, and that will be more readily evident in our lives as that work bears fruit. It is connected with I Corinthians 10:13, that as we are tempted to be impatient, He is faithful and has provided a way to escape, and we will more frequently resist temptation and more easily choose the path of escape the longer the Spirit works in us. I believe I have seen this first-hand over the last several weeks.

I’ve been reading specifically about patience for six weeks or so in preparation for tonight, and even over the last two weeks, as I was convicted – again – about what has accurately been described as my hair-trigger temper with my children, I have seen this make a difference in my life. This truth – that God is patient and I need to be as well – has impacted how I train my girls, how I respond to resistance when I call them away from their pursuits of pleasure to complete yet another boring chore, how I endure the 37 billion years between bedtime and when they actually fall asleep every night. This has not just been an intellectual exercise, friends. God’s word will not return void; it is indeed living and active, and over two short weeks, it has transformed the majority of my interactions with one child in particular from something to grit my teeth over, often literally, and merely endure, to a relationship that I can enjoy.

Again, it’s an abrupt stop, but the break makes sense here. Stay tuned for the third and final segment next week.