Patience, A Virtue that We all Want Right Now!
Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of our God and Father, (1 Thessalonians 1:3 NKJV)
Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, (Hebrews 12:1 NKJV)
Faith, Love, and Hope
What is this threefold characteristic of the Christians in Thessalonica? Their work required faith. Their labor required love. And their hope required patience. The word translated patience in our first verse is translated endurance when the Christian race is described in the second verse. So which is it? Do we need patience or do we need endurance or do we endure because we are patient?
For a further explanation of these characteristics to the Thessalonicans, the Apostle Paul says, “But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. (1 Thessalonians 5:8 NKJV).”
Obviously, this trinity of characteristics should be an important part of our lives after we are living the “new life” as “born again” Christians. Faith and love seem to be associated with the heart. The heart is the source of our motivation as I understand it in the Bible. Hope seems to be the goal of our motivation. And I believe hope has to do with the promise of the Lord to come again for His bride (the true church).
My Confession
This patience thing is something I have been thinking about for some time. I confess that I am not a patient man. When I want something done or bought, I want it NOW. But the Christian life requires patience. There seem to be two words for patience in the new testament. The one I have been quoting is associated with endurance. The other one is associated with long suffering. For example, James uses the second word in his epistle. He says, “Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand (James 5:7-8 NKJV).” Both words seem to take us to the promise of the Lord’s return.
The Promise
It has been over 2000 years since the Lord promised to come again in John 14, and that promise has been remembered every time we take the Lord’s supper where we proclaim His death until He comes. However, He hasn’t come yet. So we live in a day when the coming of the Lord is mocked by the unsaved. The promise has lost its impact on the saved, at least in developed countries, where people live for time rather than for eternity. We live in a day when Christians are more likely to get excited about politics rather than recognizing that this political world, which is part of Satan’s domain, is not the answer to the world’s problems. Only the coming of the Lord should really excite us. However, it has been 2000 years! But remember, the Apostle Peter reminds us, “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering (patient) toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9 NKJV).” So I take it that we are to be patient because the Lord is still reaching people with His salvation.
The Apostle John
After writing the book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ and after seeing coming calamities, the Apostle John writes, “He who testifies to these things (the Lord Jesus) says, ‘Surely I am coming quickly (suddenly).’ (John says) “Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus! (Revelation 22:20 NKJV).” I wonder if the Apostle John, who writes about 60 years after the death of the Lord, had trouble with this patience thing as well.
Life is a race that must be endured patiently. It is a marathon. One must pace themselves in a marathon if they are going to endure to the end. But crossing the finish line is the reward, even if a person doesn’t finish first. Yes, I am having trouble with this matter of patience when it comes to the race of life. But I am also having trouble with the matter of patience with regard to the promise of the Lord to come again.
Patient Endurance
The writer of the Hebrew epistle says (and I am quoting from the New Living Translation), “Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised.’For in just a little while, the Coming One will come and not delay (Hebrews 10:36-37 NLT.'”
Yes Lord, give us the patience to endure until the Lord comes to deliver believers from the wrath to come. That wrath will bring the unbelieving world to that place of repentance where Jew and Gentile nations will have to acknowledge that they crucified the Messiah. Then, and then only, will there be true peace on earth when the rightful King reigns.
Bruce Collins
Meditation for the week of May 4, 2025
If you would like further conversation about the issues in these meditations, contact me at collinsbd@yahoo.com and I will try to accommodate you with a virtual Bible Study.