Patience- It's Not Just Being Still

Today I began preparing for my next message in the series, Watch for the Light, and in my studying began looking more specifically at Romans 8:24-25. I want to share some of the things I was impacted by as I read Dr Martin Lloyd-Jones commentary on the passage.

The Scripture reads, "For in this hope we are saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience." (ESV) This is a passage which you are probably familiar with to some degree. It addresses the matter of hope consisting of that which is not seen, for if it were seen then it would be actual and not something in the future. Hope is about the promise of something coming to fruition. This means that hope is sustained by employing patience.

Most followers of Jesus don't like talking about patience because we think that some test will be quickly upon us. However, I think we are missing the best lesson from the topic. So, allow me to attempt to reshape your thinking.

First here is a definition of impatience. Impatience is expecting the real thing to happen somewhere else - therefore it means to go somewhere else to have that expectation fulfilled. I like this because it reminds me that God has given a multitude of promises in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, yet I often rely on some other means (usually my own plans or schemes) to see that those promises are fulfilled. That can be observed in the lives of Abraham and Sarah as they acted impatiently for God to provide the promised offspring, Isaac, by Abraham procreating with Hagar, the Egyptian servant.

Here is a definition of patience. Patience is nurturing the moment because it is the moment. When referring to Rom. 8:25, Lloyd-Jones says, "If we hope for what we do not see then we eagerly wait for it." What impressed me is that the outlook of patience is not a mere bored waiting, but an active eager anticipation of the promised to be fulfilled. It is finding that moment we are in and making the most of it with eager expectation.

Lloyd-Jones points to the consistency of patience being exemplified by Paul's statements in Philippians. In chapter 1:21ff Paul writes, "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain (the battle is clear between impatience and patience). If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor form me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the tow. My desire is to depart and be with Christ , for that is far better
(hope), But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account (patience). Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again (THE moment).

Now when you read chapter 3:12-16 let this formative thought on patience help you understand that patience is the pressing toward the mark (the upward call of God in Christ Jesus) while refraining from being captivated by the world. Remember that patience is aligning your affections on the things of the Lord and living out those affections to change the world when the moment presents itself.

I trust that as believers we will practice patience instead of just talking about it as a virtue of our faith. For it is far more than a virtue, it is an aspect of the fruit of the Holy Spirit, which means we should be engaged in the living of it.

I encourage you to be patient, not bored, not simply waiting, but eagerly pressing toward the hope of who you are in Christ Jesus to make it your own.

Radical - Reading That Challenges

It has been a long time since I last posted, you know life gets busy and I have always said that I can't allow my blog to something that wags my life. But now I have a few minutes extra and want to write on a book I am reading, titled, Radical, by David Platt.

I must admit that overall the majority of what he writes are things that I have considered before. However, there are definitely some things that he remarks on that are poignant for the church of America today. One such statement is found at the end of chapter three.

He writes, "Think about it. Would you say that your life is marked right now by desperation for the Spirit of God? Would you say that the church you are par of is characterized by a sense of desperation? Why would we ever want to settle for Christianity according to our ability or settle for church according to our resources?"

This resonated with me when I read it. I have been in ministry for 20 years in some manner, most being full-time vocational ministry; and I must confess that too many times we (both believers individually and churches corporately) are not marked by desperation for the Spirit of God. Instead we are marked by despondency, debasement, distortion, deception, and denial.

Platt writes, "Our great need is to fall before an almighty Father day and night and to plead for him to show his radical power in and through us, enabling us to accomplish for his glory what we could never imagine in our own strength."

In John 15:5, the Apostle John recorded Jesus saying, "I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing." You are probably familiar with that, but sometimes our familiarity leads us to passivity. Instead this familiarity ought to lead us to radical faith in the one who abides and empowers us.

I encourage you to join me in praying. Pray that those who claim Jesus as Savior and Lord will live abandoned to God's purposes; and in that abandon, they will be open to permanent change because of the obedience of faith (Romans 16:26).