The Fruit of the Holy Spirit - Chapter 7
Patience
We hear a great deal about the first three "Fruits of the Spirit" - love, joy and peace - but no so much about the remaining six. We must remember, however, that these are just as important.
Long-suffering, or patience, means just what it appears to mean - to suffer long. We speak about people being short-tempered or quick-tempered, but we do not speak of their being long-tempered. That is what long-suffering means, though. We are not, as Christians, to be short, quick or hot-tempered, but we are to be slow, long and cool tempered!
Patience is another word which means much the same, and in many more recent translations of the Bible you will find "patience" used instead of long-suffering.
If we take love as the source from which the rest of the fruit springs, then this is certainly true of long-suffering or patience. There can be no long-suffering without love, and no real love without long-suffering of the right kind.
We have to be careful to get the right idea about the meaning of this word. It can so easily be thought of in just a passive way, that is that we just put up with things. It can be thought of as a sleepy sort of indifference. It is more than this, though. It is the active waiting for good to come. It is expecting God to produce something positive in the midst of all that is causing suffering or difficulty.
When we think of patience, we think mainly of our own attitude to our neighbours and friends, but God is also long-suffering and patient and HIS patience is the source of ours. This side of the matter is important, and so we will think of the long-suffering and patience of God first of all.
We read about the patience of God in 2. Peter chapter 3 verses 9 and 15. Peter is writing about the second coming of the Lord Jesus. He is saying that just because He has not come as quickly as his readers expected, it does not mean that God is slow in keeping His promises. He is patient and willing to wait because He does not want anyone to be lost. And so he says that this patience means salvation.
In 1 Peter chapter 3 verse 20 also, we read again that god waited patiently in the days of Noah so that some could be saved from the flood. Again, in Romans chapter 2 verse 4, Paul begs his readers not to treat lightly God’s patience and kindness because this is designed to lead men to repentance. That verse reads like this:
"Do you show contempt for the riches of God’s kindness, tolerance and patience, not realising that God’s kindness leads you towards repentance?"
God in His patience and kindness wants to give us every opportunity to turn from our sins and seek His forgiveness and salvation in Christ. So you see that God is patient and long-suffering with us all because He does not want to give us up, but wants us to love Him and know Him, and share His own life.
Now let us see how God wants this fruit of patience to grow and show itself in our own lives as Christians. There are at least four ways in which it ought to show itself:
First, it ought to show itself in the way we react to our circumstances. In the first six verses of James chapter 5, James describes the terrible injustices and evil conditions of his day. Then in verse seven he tells his readers to be patient until the coming of the Lord.
The Lord did not seem to be caring about the way they were being treated, or about the evil and injustice there was. But, says James, remember the farmer. He has to wait many months before the land yields its crop. The coming of the Lord is near; trust Him; be patient, just as the farmer is patient.
The Lord knows what He is doing. He has a purpose in it all. Do not grumble, but wait for Him to act. Remember how the prophets in the Old Testament waited in the face of suffering for God to answer their prayers. Remember Job, and what he had to endure, and how long he had to wait, until finally he saw the deliverance of God.
We must actively and patiently wait for the Lord to come, and for Him to fulfil His purpose in our lives.
Secondly, patience should show itself in our prayer-lives. In Hebrews chapter 6 verse 12 the writer says, "We do not want you to become lazy but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised". And further on, in verse 15, we read, "So after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised".
Do you see what the writer is saying? God makes many promises to us in the Bible. For example there is the one in Romans chapter 8 verse 28 that tells us "that all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose". Then another, in 2 Corinthians chapter 12 verse 9 which says that God’s grace is sufficient for us.
Now God tells us to believe these promises and expect them to be honoured as we trust Him for them. Do not give up until you have "inherited the promise", that is until you have really experienced them!
Thirdly, our patience is to be shown in our dealings with the ungodly, and with those who wrong us. You will remember that Jesus said we are to forgive freely, without limit.
Then, in the parable of the unforgiving servant in Matthew chapter 18, with his fellow-servant, and though he owed him a very little sum he would not forgive him. We are to be like the master who forgave that servant an enormous sum.
We are to be patient with those who wrong us, ready to forgive, and always longing that they may come to know the Saviour as we do. We must always remember god’s patience with us, and the fact that He has forgiven us all of our sins against Him.
Then lastly, patience, or long-suffering, must be shown in our relationships with each other as believers. Paul says in Ephesians chapter 4 verse 2 that we are to be "patient, bearing with one another in love". He says the same in Colossians chapter 3 verse 12: "Bear with one another and forgive whatever grievance you may have against each other".
We all have faults and failings, and we need to be patient and understanding with each other.
We will look a little more at this important fruit in our next study.