The Wonder of God’s Patience
By Bruce Cooper
There are times when I marvel at the patience of God. When I think of how He puts up with me and how we sometimes interact with one another. We can be adults and yet act like little children, demanding from others what we fail to do ourselves. We expect others to understand our points of view but fail to try to understand theirs. Or, sometimes, because we do not get what we think we want, we stomp our little feet, demanding that God comply with our wishes, or else.
We want God to react on our terms, in accordance with our ability to see and understand and yet we know, or we should know, that God doesn’t work that way. God does not react according to our terms or our rules, His ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts. And I for one am glad of that, because quite candidly, my track record isn’t really all that great.
Have you ever stopped to really think and consider how God’s Word says that we are to treat one another? Let’s take a look. Grab a coffee, this list is actually short (abbreviated from what is available) and any emphasis provided is mine. And the thought crosses my mind, how many times do we all violate God’s guidance, how many times do we allow and foster our own desires and goals and put God’s guidance to the wayside?
Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. Ephesians 4:32 ESV
Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Ephesians 4:29-31 ESV
This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. John 15:12 ESV
If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother. 1 JOHN 4:20-21 ESV
If you love me, you will keep my commandments. John 14:15 ESV
Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. ROMANS 12:10 ESV
We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. ROMANS 15:1-2 ESV
Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. For “Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit; let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil. 1 PETER 3:8-12 ESV
Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Philippians 2:4 ESV
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 above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. Colossians 3:12-14 ESV
Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father, younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, in all purity. 1 Timothy 5:1-2 ESV
If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Romans 12:18 ESV
Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Philippians 2:3 ESV
Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye. Matthew 7:3-5 ESV
With all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, Ephesians 4:2 ESV
Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; James 1:19 ESV
We love because he first loved us. 1 John 4:19 ESV
Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing. 1 Thessalonians 5:11 ESV
Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. Galatians 5:23 ESV
Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him. Luke 17:3-4 ESV
Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; Hebrews 12:14-15 ESV
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Matthew 5:9 ESV
If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. Matthew 18:15 ESV
But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back. And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them. …Luke 6:27-36 ESV
Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, Titus 2:7 ESV
For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another. Galatians 5:14-15 ESV
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 1 Corinthians 13:4 ESV
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Ephesians 4:1-3 ESV
Summary:
There are many more Scripture verses that God has given us than this small sample I have given. But what do we do? We don’t take them to heart when we write to others, we don’t take them to heart when words come out of our mouths and we don’t consider them when others slander us or assume our intent, without verifying. Assumptions are made and ridicule is delivered. Discussion slides from the issue being discussed to assumed personal shortfalls. And what do we do? We respond, individually, from within ourselves. And therein lies the problem.
Can you imagine if we really took to heart all of the above admonishments? Would we have a lot less to say? Would we rephrase that written statement? Would we consider the understanding of others, along with our own, before we state what we think that we see? Would we be quicker to apologize when we have assumed unjustly? Would we acknowledge our own shortfalls and consider them when identifying the shortfalls of others?
I do marvel at God’s patience and I do see us so often, as acting like little children, without considering and making use of the wisdom that God has given us. When God’s Word says that there is none that seeks God’s righteousness (Romans 3:10-11), I believe Him. And then we have Romans 3:22-26 which reads:
“but it is the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus, whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in God’s merciful restraint He let the sins previously committed go unpunished; for the demonstration, that is, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”
His righteousness, that is not ours, it is the righteousness we have in Christ, and we forget that, especially in our dealings with others, and especially those within the family of faith.
I believe that we grieve the Holy Spirit when we forsake His guidance, I believe that we diminish the glory of Jesus when we demean and ridicule one another. Because we forget from where we receive our righteousness.
So, I do marvel at God’s patience.
Something to think about.
Worthy is the Lamb! Blessings.
Bruce Cooper became a Christian in his twenties and remembers as a new Christian he had a thousand and one questions. One of the objectives for his blog is to provide answers to many of the questions that he originally had. You’ll note that he has a “Christian Resources” page, and a “Defending Your Faith 101” page. These pages, plus others, are made available to provide the many facets of Christian Apologetics. Bruce, by definition, is just an ordinary Christian layperson and his blog is the result of his conviction, that Christians should know why they believe and what they believe. Studying the many facets of Christian Apologetics helps him build on that conviction.
Bruce served 35 years in the Canadian Armed Forces. Upon retirement from CAF he worked another 18 years in private industry as an Information Technology (IT) Network Administrator, and a Certified Google Apps Deployment Specialist. He retired at the age of 70 and now works part time with the Canadian Corps of Commissionaires.
Bruce, A.K.A. Papa, and his wife Peggy live in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Their five children are grown and have gifted them with 7 wonderful grandchildren.
Worthy is the Lamb! Blessings!
Feature Image by Jude Joshua from Pixabay
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