Endurance and Patience part 1
I'm still kind of on this idea of what "Spiritual warfare" is really supposed to be. Because I DO not like the idea of fighting against sin. I don't think we're supposed to fight AGAINST anything. And, listen, I'm not saying you should be ok with everything. If you don't stand for something you'll fall for anything. And that's actually my point. We should stand FOR things. We should fight FOR things. The good fight of faith is laying hold of eternal life. Its not about getting rid of something. Its about receiving what we have already been given. Receiving it and releasing it. Receiving it BY releasing it. I think--if we're going to stick to this "Spritual warfare" theme--we need some different bullets in our gun. And for this Rant series I want to focus on what I consider to be two very powerful bullets: Endurance and patience. And my key verse is, "We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy" (Colossians 1:11). And here's my thought for today: If Paul wrote "all the endurance and patience you need" chances are you're going to need some endurance and patience! Because dealing with people is hard. People are messy. I said this (I think) yesterday and I want to expand on it a little bit today: People rarely do what THEY want to do. Much less what YOU want them to do. So for my Bible on this thought I want to quote Romans 7:15 (NLT). But before I do I want to remind us that this passage, in context, is about a man struggling under the Law. This is not the New Man. The New Man isn't about trying to be someone He's not, or do something other than what comes naturally to Him. Ok. The verse goes like this, "I don't really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don't do it. Instead, I do what I hate." I think that's where a whole lot of people live. I remember one time last year in junior kindergarten Logan had two AWFUL days at school. He was telling people how much he doesn't like school, and trying to get other kids to agree with him. So I sat down with him and we talked it out and then he was fine. Nothing like that has happened since. Anyway, a few days afterwards Logan took my hand and said, "Dad... I don't even know why I was acting like that." And I said, "I know it, little buddy. I'm just glad you're not doing it anymore." I chalked it up to people having bad days. That happens. We're all going through things all of the time. Different, but similar things. Because the human experience is very unique, but it is also very universal. We all crave love, bottom line. Love controls us. Either we think we don't have it, so we do what we do (even if we hate it) in order to get love. Or we know we have it and we do what we do in order to share it. But the key is to not let others dictate to us. To be strengthened by God's glorious power (which is love, by the way) in order to be patient with people. In order to endure. That's what love does. Love endures. That's why love never fails. Because it (HE) endures. Because it (HE) is patient, and kind, and longsuffering. And as He is, so are we in this world!