Tag: Fruit of the Spirit

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Patience Unto Eternity

My Dearest Sister,

​Let’s be honest with each other: Life is hard and seemingly unfair sometimes. And while I’d like to say that I have mastered the valuable skill of patience in the face of those unavoidable hardships, that would be completely untrue. In fact I think most people, even most Christians, struggle with this particular fruit of the Spirit. It’s not difficult to determine why when we see that patience is defined as “the bearing of provocation, annoyance, misfortune, or pain, without complaint, loss of temper, irritation, or the like.” So basically, being able to handle the complete sum of life’s problems without so much as batting an eyelash. Yeah, I don’t know about you, but I don’t think that’s easy for anyone.

​I have always marveled at how simple yet how elusive the concept of patience seems to be. After all, if God calls us to practice it, then surely it should be something that we are capable of doing on a regular basis. I think, however, that the majority of our inability to have true biblical patience lies in the fact that the world and God have two very different ideas about it. It’s another one of those classic sin-versus-righteousness-scenarios that all too often plays itself out in our daily lives. You see, the world teaches us that everything revolves around the here and now. To be truly happy, we have to put ourselves first, doing whatever pleases our fancy because it’s all about enjoying this life to the fullest. Why else do you think that the entire nation owes over 11 trillion dollars in credit card debt? Because they have to have what they want, NOW! Patience simply has no place in the humanistic – and by extension materialistic – lifestyle.

​God’s idea, on the other hand, is quite different. As Christians, we know that this life is temporary, gone in the blink of an eye, and that there is a greater, eternal life to come. Hebrews 6:11-12 speaks about the attitude we are to have toward this life: “And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” The world doesn’t have a promise for anyone’s future; All it can guarantee is the here and now. God, however, has given “exceedingly great and precious promises” to those He calls His children (2 Peter 1:4). If you’re unfamiliar with them, just read the Book of Revelation for starters. There is something better at the end of this life and so we are content to have patience, even if it means suffering through hardships and trials along the way.

​James 5:10-11 gives us an example of this patience through earthly sorrows: “My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and patience. Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord – that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.” Many of the prophets of God were tortured and brutally killed for speaking in His name, yet not for one second did they stop persevering down the path to which God had called them. They knew the end the Lord had intended for them, one full of compassion and mercy. It is because of their unshakeable faith in this promise, that they were able to have patience, even in the midst of their suffering. Job, on the other hand, had everything stripped from him but his life and still he faithfully served the Lord. It was because of his faith and patience that he was rewarded in the end with even more prosperity than he had before.

​Now thankfully, most of us do not face the daily horror of being physically persecuted for our faith or losing our homes, family, and health in one fell swoop. But even if we did, we can be sure that all of our suffering has first passed through our Father’s hands. As Proverbs 20:24 says “A man’s steps are of the Lord; How then can a man understand his own way?” It’s easy to feel like God has abandoned us when we are in the midst of earthly struggles and life has not turned out as we planned. Often times the last thing we want to do is have patience for this glorious end that feels so very far away from the here and now. But sister, let me assure you that God has planned every step of the journey. While there will be times when we will suffer more than we ever thought possible, we do not need to fear or doubt, for His promise to the prophets is the same as His promise to you and I: He has an end in mind that is for our good and His glory, one where He can finally pour out His full compassion and mercy on our souls. Have patience for that end dear sister, no matter what struggles we face in the meantime. We can’t afford to become short-sighted and lost in the sorrows of this life, not when we know the glory that awaits us in eternity.
​As I finish this letter, I am reminded of a hymn I learned as a child and it seems fitting to close with it here:

​“It will be worth it all, when we see Jesus.
​Life’s trials will seem so small, when we see Christ.
​One glimpse of His dear face, all sorrows will erase.
​So bravely run the race till we see Christ.”

​Remember the promises of God about your glorious future, my dearest sister, for they will give you the patience to endure even the toughest of life’s hardships.
​
​Your dear friend and sister in Christ,
​~ Lauren

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Active Patience

Dear Sisters,
I am not a patient individual by nature. Then, God blessed me with a husband… and five children. In fact, I have begun to write this while nursing my youngest. If I could, I would add a few more activities from my to-do list, but I have a feeling that would only result in incomplete chores and a wailing child. As you can imagine, I have a tremendous need for patience. I sorely wish God would “ding” me on the head and magically change me into a phenomenally long suffering woman. Since God is not the Fairy Godmother from Cinderella, my gut tells me I have been signed up for patience-lessons.

Paul wrote the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. If the Spirit resides within me, why am I not good, kind, joyful, and patient at all times? Well, becoming a new creature in Christ resembles a slave being freed from her master who can choose to return to the master and work like a slave again (though the chains are broken), or leave and create a new life. As a new believer, Christ freed the maid from the chains to sin, but He did not place her on a throne, she remains in her world. In other words, as believers, we can now choose to act patiently instead of blowing up in anger, but it is not as if our brains have been completely altered and the only option we have is to be patient. If they had, we would effectively be robots, destroying the reason God created us in the first place.

That brings to mind non-believers patiently loving their own children. Surely the church does not hold the monopoly on virtue. Non-believers can be gentle, peaceful, and kind. The difference between the world’s virtue and the church’s is the goal. Christ admonishes us to love others. A worldly individual chooses to act in accordance with God’s law, or to love others in order to gain for themselves—whether to gain admiration from others or to avoid punishment, their goal is selfish. A believer’s actions should be motivated by the desire to love and follow Christ.

“It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.” Gal. 5:1. This seemed to me to be self-explanatory—who would want to walk back into jail after having been freed? But then I realized that I do have a tendency to return to a prison of rules—because they are familiar and it is easy to point, full of pride, to their ‘refinement’ in my life. I often surround myself and my family with inflexible rules—the right way to do laundry, what to eat, when to rest, the correct way to address others. If those rules are not followed, you can see the impatience seething within me. “You were running well; who hindered you from obeying the truth?” Gal. 5:7. Jesus didn’t suffer and die to free me only to enslave me to another set of rules that become the focus—the idol. He freed me so I could be absorbed searching after God’s heart. “Faith working through love” is Jesus’ goal for us (Gal. 5:6).

It is important to note that Christ’s mandate is not to feel love, but to work, to act in love. In the same way, patience is an action, not a feeling. My husband said he thought I am incredibly patient. I looked at him as if he had two heads. Me? Are you talking to the same person that feels like ants are crawling under her skin when for the 100th time I have to remind one of our children to do something correctly? I know I am going to feel the ‘ants’ of impatience, but I don’t have to follow their leading. If I am running by the Spirit, producing fruit, there is no time or room for the deeds of the flesh.

Running with you,
Rebecca

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The Law of Kindness

“She opens her mouth with wisdom; and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.”
~Proverbs 31:26

Dear sister,

I like to think of myself as a generally kind person. I’m not rude or mean to people. I generally speak well of people in their presence and away from it. Yet when I read Proverbs 31:26 I am reminded of how often I fall short when it comes to being kind to others. I’m reminded of the many times I have tried to control my frustration with others and exhibit patience toward them and then not been able to contain it fully and end up making an exasperated remark in an unkind tone of voice that I now regret.

So maybe simply being a “nice” person isn’t exactly what King Lemuel is getting at here as he writes the thirty-first chapter of Proverbs. What is this ‘teaching of kindness’ that he speaks of, and what all does this entail?

In other versions the word ‘law’ is supplied in place of ‘teaching’. A law is something that we live by or abide by. Most of us when we get into our cars automatically reach for our seat belt because the law requires it of us and is therefore our duty to abide by it. Because we are obligated to fulfill the law we are in the habit of clicking our seat belts into place. In the same way, we, as women of God, are to live by the law or teaching of kindness and be in the habit of being kind, so much so that it is an automatic reflex.

Kindness is more than simply being nice to people. Kindness entails responding graciously to others even when they might not deserve it. In other versions we see ‘mercy’ and ‘faithful instruction’ is used instead of kindness so we can incorporate these meanings into the word as well. Kindness, according to Proverbs 31:26 is not just an attitude, it’s a way of life–‘the teaching of kindness is on her tongue’. We should be in the habit of being kind of others. A gracious response should be our first response no matter what the situation is.

Now, if you’re like me (and you are), then you’re a sinner and it takes more than just reading this verse and understanding what it means to be a kind and gracious person. We actually have to practice it. This means that we should take every opportunity to show kindness and that when we fail to respond graciously we should go to the person we have spoken harshly to, ask for forgiveness and tell them what we should have said.

Being kind to others is not always easy, but we are not alone in our pursuit to be courteous and gracious to others. Kindness is part of the fruit of the Spirit and if we have the Spirit in us, He is cultivating this virtue in our lives. We must depend fully on the enabling of the Spirit and on the strength of the Lord to grow in this virtue. Without the Spirit we will be hopelessly unable to be kind to anyone.

Grace and peace to you, dear sister,

Your sister,

Kayla