One of my biggest struggles as a parent has been teaching my children to be patient. I have three wonderful boys - eight, four, and two years old - and patience is one fruit of the Spirit that has been in short supply in my house lately. But, as parenting so often does, when I try to guide my boys and model Christ-like behavior for them, I am often reminded of my own painfully slow progress in sanctification. When I don’t get what I want when I want it, my response is often no better than my kids’. If the internet is too slow, or my package doesn’t arrive on time, or the red light doesn’t turn green fast enough, I may not throw a temper tantrum or pout in my room; but more often than not, it’s only because I’m better at hiding my own impatience.
Patience is such a difficult fruit of the Spirit to cultivate in my own heart in part because we live in a culture that prizes instant gratification. I used to have to count down the days for the new episode of my favorite show to air on TV. Now I simply log on to my streaming service and binge watch the latest series at my leisure. If there is a gadget that would make my life more convenient, I can simply order it online and it will be on my doorstep in a day or two. If I have a nagging question, I can pull up the answer on my phone in a matter of seconds. All of the technology that makes our lives more convenient is, of course, a good thing for which we can be thankful. But I can’t help but think that it comes with a cost: we’ve lost the ability to be patient.
Recently in my study of Scripture, I have been struck by a consistent theme in the New Testament, namely, that a large part of the Christian life is characterized by waiting. The apostle Paul, in the opening chapter of 1 Corinthians, says that in the time between Christ’s ascension and second coming we must “wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ” (v. 7). James, the brother of Jesus, touches on this same theme in his epistle when he encourages the Jewish Christian recipients of his letter with this admonition: “Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains” (James 5.7). The key insight for Paul and James is that the Christian life is not a matter of waiting aimlessly, twiddling our thumbs. Rather, Christians wait with the end in mind— “the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Our whole lives are oriented toward the Lord’s return, even the times when our patience is tested.
This has been a challenging truth for me to digest, because the prospect of Christ’s second coming does not often have a prominent place in the regular rhythms of my Christian life. Yet Paul and James (and the rest of the biblical writers) challenge all of us to practice a forward-looking patience - a waiting that entrusts the details of our lives to our faithful Creator. We persevere through the frustrations and failings of life in a fallen world with the knowledge that it will all be redeemed on the last day. Our patience is rooted in the wonderful assurance that our waiting is not in vain. Rather, we wait with a sure and certain hope that the One who first came in the form of a servant will one day come again in glory, to make all things new and to bring to fulfillment what we long for.
But, in the meantime, we still live in a world marred by pain, sin, and loss. We go about our lives acutely aware that waiting is still hard, but we also know that the shallow gratification the world offers cannot repair our broken world, nor fill our deepest longings. And so, for God’s kingdom to reign over all of creation, we must wait with eager expectation and firm hope for the coming again of our King. Our heavenly Father has not revealed to us the day or hour of the Son’s return, but He has promised that one day Christ will come again to wipe away every tear from our eyes. Until that time comes, God, through the Holy Spirit working in us, gives us patience to wait for that wonderful day. And, as we wait, we are called to live with hope and endurance, trusting in His saving and sustaining grace.
