Transcript
You could argue that there is no such thing as good relationships without patience. You could also argue that one of the key character qualities of the biblical story is patience. It always amazes me when I read through the Bible again, the amount of time between the fall of Adam and Eve and the coming of Jesus. If I'd have been on the joystick, Adam and Eve would have fallen in the morning, Jesus would have come that afternoon. It all would have been taken care of, quick story because I don't like to wait.
Why the Wait?
But why the wait? Because every situation, every location, every circumstance, judge after judge, king after king, city after city, motion after motion was all the steps necessary to get the world to the exact right moment when Jesus would come.
That length of time is a picture of the incalculable patience of God. You see, healthy relationships are about patience. People are different than you. They're going to have different views of things. They're going to have different ways of doing things. They're going to have different responses to life than you have. They're going to have different values than you have. They're from different cultures than you and if you let those differences root inside you and create irritation, you'll never know a good relationship with the people around you. I say this in the context of families a lot. Patience is the willingness to suffer uncomfortable things in order for good to happen in my relationship with you and in your life.
Where is God calling you, in the context of your neighbors, to be willing to go through things you don't really want to go through in order for that relationship to work, in order for you to be God's representative, God's ambassador in that person's life?
Six Inches of Property
Maybe that means you won't start a legal battle over six inches of property that they've taken up with their fence because that six inches of property is not nearly as important to you as your relationship to that real human being that God has put in your life. You're willing to suffer that loss for the sake of that relationship.
Maybe you don't let the weirdness of that person's politics get under your skin, so all you ever do is argue with them. Maybe you'll suffer being patient and kind, and not winning arguments that you know you can win because you know that'll drive that person away.
Maybe you don't look at that young man as just an overly tattooed punk. Maybe you look through his skin and you see somebody who needs to be loved, and you're willing to relate to somebody who you're not comfortable with because you want to mirror the patient, accepting love of the Lord. Listen, if you want healthy relationship with your neighbors, God's calling you to patience.
Generosity, Love, and Patience
Now, think of these three things: generosity, love, patience. They are three qualities, three agendas that have the power to radically transform your relationship to your neighbors. The problem is they're not natural for us and so, if you want to embed your story in the larger story of redemption, if you want to live out the redemption story with the neighbors that are in your life everyday, then you need the Redeemer in your life.
You need His grace. You need His power. You need His forgiveness. You need, like I need, to be rescued from me. How about praying for that rescue? Don't, first, pray for your neighbor. How about, first, praying for you, praying that God would give you the grace to live out the beauty of the redemptive story in your relationship to your neighbors? Generosity, love, patience -- powerful forces of transformation. Live that story and there's grace for that commitment.
