“I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:1-3).
Out of all the New Testament uses of the word “patience,” more than half of the references are of God’s patience. The other half of the references are in reference to the patience that disciples and followers of Jesus Christ based on God’s patience with us.
Because God has been long-suffering, patient, long-waiting before acting in anger and judgment with us, we are now called to practice long-suffering, patience, long-waiting before reacting in anger and judgment toward others.
Notice why we are to be patient with others. It’s because we are, and continue to be, the recipients of God’s patience toward us.
Because patience is a characteristic of God, patience is to be a characteristic of God-followers.
How do we do that? How do we practice patience?
- long-suffer
- forbear
- long-waiting before reacting
The more we practice patience, the better we become at being patient.
Let’s get practicing. Let’s get to work.
Praxis: Faith in Action 