Beyond the Weekend

August 17 | Patience

August 17, 2015

Text: Galatians 5.22-23

This past weekend Pastor Jeff Manion taught about the significance of patience in the life of a Christian. While it’s easy to spot a lack of patience, it’s definitely not so easy to master. But as a follower of Christ, practicing patience is a major step in becoming like the Christ.

The New Testament was written in Greek, and the Greek word for “patience” used in Galatians 5.22 is makrothumia. It’s been challenging to Bible translators for centuries—some translate it “longsuffering” (KJV), others “forbearance” (NIV), and others “patience” (NLT). A literal translation of the word means “long-passion” or “long-anger.” The idea being, a patient person waits sufficient time before they express anger. When people annoy us, patience allows us to walk at their pace and refrain from expressing our frustration in an inappropriate manner.

As we learn to walk with God and live by the Spirit, this should be true of us. By learning patience we avoid a premature use of force rising out of improper anger. Instead, by the Spirit’s leading, we are able to stick with that person and show love, even though we may feel tested in the moment.

Take a few minutes today to further investigate the word “patience.” Click here to see how many times the word is used throughout Scripture. Read through the passages and make connections between the different ones listed.

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