The ‘Longsuffering' Of Christ
Galatians 5:22 NKJV —
‘But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.’
Hebrews 4:15 ESV —
‘For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathise with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are’
One of my highlights of 2023 so far was watching the final season of Happy Valley, the iconic crime drama set in rural Yorkshire. On top of the world-class acting of Sarah Lancashire and the fantastic writing, I appreciated the experience because each episode was broadcast once a week, a bizarre phenomenon in our binge-watching, instant access culture.
I know that patience isn’t my strongest trait, and when the expectation is that the next episode can be enjoyed immediately, a seven-day wait can feel like agony. Yet I soon found that my joy wasn’t diminished by the delay, rather my built-up anticipation only made the show more thrilling!
But our patience isn’t always demanded in trivial situations like our TV habits. It might be in waiting for a job after being turned down multiple times; or in sitting on an NHS waiting list for months and hearing nothing. It’s not just frustration, but anger and disappointment.
The NKJV uses ‘longsuffering’ in place of ‘patience’ in Galatians 5, which provides another dimension to the pain that can come from waiting.
We read in the gospels that from a young age Jesus was going to the temple and learning the scriptures. He had read the prophecies that foretold his death and he knew his identity as the Son of God (Luke 2:49).
He would have spent most of his life in this ‘longsuffering’, enduring the rejection and criticism of those who were supposed to love him, and looking ahead to the moment he would die for them. Even with his unwavering trust in the Father, Jesus’ prayer in Gethsemane shows how painful this anticipation was.
Jesus’ life and death mean that he can ‘sympathise’ with all that we go through and stand with us.
Prayer- Jesus, thank you that you see me in my suffering and you sympathise with me in my waiting. Grow my patience and help me to fix my eyes on you.