Colossians 3:12-13 “So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you”. (NASB)
I spent the afternoon driving home from northern California. It’s a long drive in good weather but today I started out in the snow, yes it was snowing and ended up in heavy rain. There were few moments along the way when I could shift the wipers off or to the low intermittent setting. With that preamble I’ll just tell you that the usual bad drivers on I5 were horrific drivers in the weather. What goes through their minds is beyond me. With all candor I think some of them should just stay home unless the road is dry and clear and even then they should have a warning printed on their trunk; “Watch Out! Bad Driver on Board”.
With that preamble I’ll confess to you I had moments of frustration when these folks just parked themselves in the fast lane doing 60 mph holding up lines of cars behind them. Now that I’m home and reflecting on the day it is obvious to me that I need to dig in and write about this experience. The obvious topic then is PATIENCE.
Patience is referred to several times in the New Testament. Today I’d like to hone in on this passage from Colossians. Paul writes, “So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved” to first identify those he is addressing. It is clear then that he is speaking of Christians. This is significant because as we’ve learned before Christians have been given the gift of the Holy Spirit. Galatians reveals the fruit of the Spirit, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law”. Galatians5:22-23 (NASB) Notice that word buried in Paul’s list. Patience!
So, in the Christian, all of whom have been given the gift of the Holy Spirit, the fruit or result of the Holy Spirit working in them includes patience. In our passage for today when Paul reminds believers to "Put on" these various attributes including patience, he is actually telling them to “Put on” what the Holy Spirit already wants to produce in them. So what is Paul actually saying then? With regard to this list of attributes, “heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience” he is telling us to put on these attributes. These attributes are the results of the work of the Holy Spirit in the believer yet Paul tells us to “Put on” these attributes. There must be something for us to consider.
I think the answer is clear. Although patience and the other attributes are the work of the Holy Spirit it is up to the believer to put them on. That is the Holy Spirit wants to influence us toward being this kind of a person but we have to yield to it. When we yield to the Holy Spirit working in us we can put on “Patience” and the rest. We can’t just sit back and say, “I’m a Christian and if I behave badly it is the fault of the Holy Spirit because He hasn’t changed me”. Rather, if we behave badly, contrary to the fruit of the Spirit and we are truly a Christian it is because we are failing to yield to the Holy Spirit.
I should be clear here. Christians aren’t perfect; none of them are perfect. You say, “Duh”! Well, many people call Christians hypocrites when they behave badly. Harsh as the criticism may be it is deserved to a degree because as the vessel of the Holy Spirit the Christian has the opportunity not to sin. But we all do sin. Put it this way. The Holy Spirit is perfecting us but it is a process that will never be complete in this lifetime. Meanwhile when we do yield to the Holy Spirit and He bears fruit in our lives we can “Put on” attributes of “Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control”
So where does that leave me and my frustration with the drivers on I5. I can tell you that although I was frustrated from time to time considering the adverse conditions I wasn’t too bad. Clearly the Holy Spirit has gotten a hold of me and taught me a thing or two. No road rage today and the frustration was mild by comparison to moments in the past. I’m not perfect but I am being perfected. AMEN!
No comments:
Post a Comment