And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; 2 Peter 1:6
Often we think of patience in passive terms, as if the patient person is utterly submissive and half asleep. But this version of patience needs a Biblical corrective. Barclay teaches from 2 Peter 1:6 (where the King James Version uses the term patience):
“The words never mean the spirit which sits with folded hands and simply bears things. It is victorious endurance [and] constancy under trial. It is Christian steadfastness, the brave and courageous acceptance of everything life can do to us, and the transmuting of even the worst into another step on the upward way.
It is the courageous and triumphant ability to bear things, which enables a man to pass breaking point and not to break, and always to greet the unseen with a cheer.”
William Barclay, Letters of Peter and Jude (Edinburgh: St. Andrews, 1960), 258.
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Wow. I love this a lot. I am so thankful for you and your studies. :)
ReplyDeleteThe most difficult things I've managed to do in my life have involved patience.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard work to trust the Lord and fight doubts and discouragement while waiting for His perfect timing. This post is a keeper for me and helps me understand more what 'enduring to the end' really means. Bless you Donna!
This is a better way of saying that "enduring to the end" just isn't enough. We can't just take it without making great effort. It brought to mind the following scripture in 2 Nephi 31:
ReplyDelete16 And now, my beloved brethren, I know by this that unless a man shall endure to the end, in following the example of the Son of the living God, he cannot be saved.
We, like the Savior, must be courageous and triumphant as we endure all things.
Thanks Donna. :)
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