A Jot from John
Patience means the power to endure, to suffer to wait . . . to do so even in adversity and with a calm spirit. Synonyms or near synonyms are endurance, fortitude, perseverance, long-suffering. James reminds us that we know of the patience of Job, and indeed, we do. We can learn patience from him as we see his suffering and endurance. But there is another who can teach us the lesson of patience to a greater degree than Job. That is Jesus.
PATIENCE WITH PEOPLE
As we see Jesus going about teaching and doing good and as we behold the opposition, he encountered on every hand we must be impressed with his poise. His labors seemed to produce such meager results, but he was never discouraged. Even his disciples could be so trying! How he tried to teach them the nature of his kingdom and yet they failed to understand even after his resurrection. Even after Peter’s denial we continue to see Jesus manifesting a calm and poised spirit. We so badly need patience in dealing with people. When they are slow to learn, we need patience. When results seem few, we need it. We need always to make every effort to place ourselves in the position of the other person . . . to sit where he sits. This would cause us to be more charitable in our dealings and less rash in our judgments. If we could see all that God sees, we would have to reverse many of our verdicts. Jesus was patient even with those who were his bitter enemies and prayed for them with his dying breath.
PATIENCE WITH CIRCUMSTANCES
There was a great lawgiver who threw down the tables of stone and broke them, but it was not Jesus! Another great man of whom we read drew his sword and cut off the ear of the high priest’s servant, but it was not Jesus! See him while he is being tempted forty days! See him as he is being hurried through the mock trials and as false witnesses are asserting lie after lie to bring about his death! Through it all Jesus is the perfect master. How it must grieve God for men and women to become slaves to circumstances, for them to go through life moping and discontented. In addition to marring character, such an attitude disfigures faces. One such person upsets the lives of many others. Do you remember Emerson’s advice? He says that after we spend a sleepless night, we should not tell others at the breakfast table about it, for it will send them to their tasks for the day with diminished power and spirit. We must not go through life complaining about our disappointments and hardships. We must be patience with God. When we pray, we must wait for him to answer in his own way and time.
John B. Daniels, Associate Minister
