When they discover I make quilts, a few people say, “I don’t have the patience.” That remark puzzled me. A dictionary says patience means “the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset.” I wondered why would anyone assume that making quilts involves delay, trouble or suffering any more than other endeavors? I now realize the answer to this puzzle, but first need to review the Bible’s thoughts on PATIENCE.
In the OT, ʾerek ʾappayim is the Hebrew expression for “patience” — an idiom that translates literally as “long of nose.” It is also translated as “slow to anger” and “longsuffering” while conversely, a person “short of nose” (qebar ʾappayim) is impatient or quick-tempered. We might say “hothead” or “short-fused” but I’ve never seen a quilter display those attributes!
Most often, ʾerek ʾappayim describes a characteristic of God. The first example is Exodus 34:6: “The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, ‘The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.”
God’s patience must not be taken lightly. Because He is patient with us and does not treat us as we deserve, we do not perish. As the psalmist writes in Psalm 103:8–10, “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities.”
There are a few words in the NT that are translated patience. The one that is used for God’s patience is makrothymia. My Bible dictionary says this word is rare in Greek usage as it describes resigned submission to a situation which cannot be fixed. In the Bible, this word has a more positive meaning — the makrothymia of God is his long-suffering or forbearance, standing between the extremes of wrath and grace. One definition is patient endurance of pain or unhappiness, a hint of how God sees us when we are wallowing in sin instead of walking with Him.
Walking with Him requires repentance, or to change one’s way of life as the result of a complete change of thought and attitude toward sin and righteousness. Clearly this is not going to happen without the saving work of God, a work that mysteriously calls on us to change yet that change is done by a merciful and gracious act of God. In the process, God waits. Does He wait for the right time to illuminate our hearts? Is it for us to respond? Whatever it is, we cannot use His patience as an excuse to keep on with sin . . .
Romans 2:4. “Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?”
Romans 9:22. “What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction . . . .”
God gives an example in the life of Paul who said in 1 Timothy 1:15–16, “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.”
An OT example is that God waited “patiently” for the ark to be built despite the world’s sin (see 1 Peter 3:18–20). All of Scripture shows that “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).
He adds (2 Peter 3:14–16) that I am to wait for Him with diligence to be without spot or blemish and at peace. I’m to count His patience as salvation and GAZE INTO HIS GLORY with the realization that if God were not patient, I would not last long.
Back to making quilts. I’m working on several large consignments and realize that making baby quilts is much quicker to produce satisfaction. The time it takes to produce a queen-size bed quilt makes me impatient. Each day I need to tell myself that if I am not patient, the person who the quilt is for will not receive it. Patience is listed as a fruit of the Holy Spirit. I need the power of God to both start and finish this work, just as He needs patience to finish His work in me. Now I understand the people who say they have no patience. And now I have good news for them about where to find it!
No comments:
Post a Comment