Be Patient, Be Kind, Be Good
Galatians 5: 22-23 –
‘But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, FORBEARANCE, KINDNESS, GOODNESS, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.’
Ephesians 4:32 –
‘Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.’
Years ago, when I was a headteacher, I had a colleague head who I couldn’t stand: my feelings towards her were critical to the point of hostility. One day I unexpectedly and unhappily found myself sitting next to her on a train. I gritted my teeth.
After a bit, she turned to me and said: ‘Jill, do you know anything about the Holy Spirit?’ Bam! We had an amazing conversation, and in the days to come I prayed a lot for her, using the story of the woman who came to Jesus with a haemorrhage. In imaginative prayer, I saw my colleague as that woman touching the hem of Jesus’ garment. Eventually she became a Christian - and my friend. And I learned a lesson about ‘forbearance.’
Forbearance: the other half of the fruit from yesterday is about choosing patience with others, especially the ones who annoy or hurt you. Who can you think of? Are you willing to demonstrate this fruit? That’s the first step - the choosing (self-control.) But how can we deal with those negative emotions towards them? To borrow from CS Lewis: if we could see that person as one day they will become in the presence of Jesus, we‘d be tempted to worship them. So let’s pray for them in that light.
And we’ll need the fruits of kindness and goodness as well. Closely related, kindness takes every opportunity to serve others; goodness is that integrity of behaviour that is the same in all situations and with all people. Goodness is both kind and tough: remember Jesus clearing the temple of the money changers. Kindness is tenderness of heart: see how Jesus treats the woman thrown at his feet, guilty of adultery.
He’s our example: tough love when right and needed; tenderness towards all who are broken.
Prayer – Jesus, please grow patience, kindness and goodness in me.
P.S. No sooner had I stopped writing about forbearance than I got cross with someone. Aaaargh! Sorry, Lord!