Love is Patient
The Gospel of Luke counts 76 generations between Adam and Jesus. There were over 4000 years between the protoevangelium (the first time God promised the Messiah in Genesis 3:15) and His actual coming in the flesh. God’s people endured countless wars, broken families, betrayal, enslavement, suffering, all the while yearning and groaning for the promised Messiah to rescue them. We can imagine the doubt they must have felt, the questioning, the temptation to turn to fortune tellers and mediums to give them answers and details of a plan that was not theirs to know.
“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law so that we might receive adoption as sons.” Galatians 4:4-5.
We are so confined to our own perspective in our limited time on this earth that we cannot see the big picture God sees. The conquering Roman Empire brought persecution to the Jews, but it also brought roads and infrastructure that allowed for the Gospel to be spread in a way that was not previously possible. For the first time since Babel, people far and wide had a shared language and the story of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus could be easily written and distributed. The dispersion of the Jews brought the news far and wide. None of this was an accident or coincidence, God knew from the moment Adam and Eve sinned in the garden the way mankind was going to go and had a plan for our salvation that included the exact moment He would send His Son into the world to save us.
We wait now for the second coming of our Savior, and as the day grows nearer, we continue to groan in this fallen world. Wars seem endless, Christians are being persecuted and murdered around the world, America is home to great hostility and division, random attacks on innocent people make it scary to leave the house sometimes. What is God waiting for? Why does Jesus not come back now and put an end to all of the chaos and suffering?
“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
Our God is patient and long suffering because of His great love for us. While we may be on the heavenward side of salvation, there are many others God is still drawing to Himself.
“And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him.” Acts 17:26-27
As we wait and hope and long for the coming of our Savior, let us reflect the patience of God in how we seek out the lost. Perhaps there is some family member you have given up on, some friend you think is without hope. Be patient with them. Continue to pursue them the way Christ continues to pursue us in our own folly as He makes us more into His image day after day, year after year. Perhaps the person you are hardest on and the most unforgiving towards is yourself. You may be struggling to mature in areas you have been working to grow in for years; or perhaps as you grow you become more aware of the depths of your sin. Whatever the case may be, see yourself through the eyes of your patient, loving God who does not rush the process of our sanctification, but is walking you through it every step of the way.
“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law so that we might receive adoption as sons.” Galatians 4:4-5.
We are so confined to our own perspective in our limited time on this earth that we cannot see the big picture God sees. The conquering Roman Empire brought persecution to the Jews, but it also brought roads and infrastructure that allowed for the Gospel to be spread in a way that was not previously possible. For the first time since Babel, people far and wide had a shared language and the story of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus could be easily written and distributed. The dispersion of the Jews brought the news far and wide. None of this was an accident or coincidence, God knew from the moment Adam and Eve sinned in the garden the way mankind was going to go and had a plan for our salvation that included the exact moment He would send His Son into the world to save us.
We wait now for the second coming of our Savior, and as the day grows nearer, we continue to groan in this fallen world. Wars seem endless, Christians are being persecuted and murdered around the world, America is home to great hostility and division, random attacks on innocent people make it scary to leave the house sometimes. What is God waiting for? Why does Jesus not come back now and put an end to all of the chaos and suffering?
“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
Our God is patient and long suffering because of His great love for us. While we may be on the heavenward side of salvation, there are many others God is still drawing to Himself.
“And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him.” Acts 17:26-27
As we wait and hope and long for the coming of our Savior, let us reflect the patience of God in how we seek out the lost. Perhaps there is some family member you have given up on, some friend you think is without hope. Be patient with them. Continue to pursue them the way Christ continues to pursue us in our own folly as He makes us more into His image day after day, year after year. Perhaps the person you are hardest on and the most unforgiving towards is yourself. You may be struggling to mature in areas you have been working to grow in for years; or perhaps as you grow you become more aware of the depths of your sin. Whatever the case may be, see yourself through the eyes of your patient, loving God who does not rush the process of our sanctification, but is walking you through it every step of the way.
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