“Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus” (Romans 15:5)
God is patient with every one of us. He gives us “space to repent.” His longsuffering toward us made our salvation possible. Even after we get saved, He knows we are children who need to grow. He is a patient Father. Like a husbandman, He waits with long patience for the precious fruit of the earth.
God asks us to treat others the way He treats us. No matter where anyone is, we are to be patient toward them. The word is clear: “Be patient toward all” (1 Thes. 5:14) But what if we tell someone seven times a day what we’d like them to do and they just keep doing the opposite? Doesn’t patience have its limit? Yes, it does. According to Jesus the limit is seventy times seven.
Oh, how we learn patience through the things we long suffer! God would create in us His heart of mercy and forbearance as we are forced to deal with the “slow growers” around us. It helps every once in awhile to be reminded that we are still growing (sometimes quite slowly) ourselves.
Our Lord is now in heaven, waiting. In this day of mercy, may we learn to be patient with Him. May we be “as He is” in and to this world we wish would change.