It is really no surprise to see one of the weekly devotionals on Team RFC’s web site talking about virtue, and there is that old saying about patience being a virtue. But what of patience?
It would be a simple shot to talk about the lack of patience in contemporary American society: instant food, road rage, easy credit, Madison Avenue induced need for immediate gratification.
In New Testament days, the Apostle James had a few things to say about patience. If that’s true, then patience must be an issue beyond contemporary society. Here’s what he has to say:
James 5:7 Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord's coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. 8 You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near.
Hmm, patience must be important. But what does patience really mean? It’s not just rote acceptance of any circumstance. That is simply fatalism, just giving up and giving in. Patience does require a degree of discipline on our part (like not blowing a gasket when someone snakes into that parking space for which you’ve been waiting). But not discipline to the point of rigid, inflexible legalism. What else does James say>
James 5:10 Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.
Ah, there’s the key. Godly patience is perseverance;, and patience for a reason. That reason, of course, is God’s compassion and mercy. That, friends, is worth waiting for!
