Inseparable fruit; God's greatest gift
Acts 9
(N.B This post follows on from the previous post about patience in pain; Please (š) if you have not already go and read that first š)
This has possibly been the most frustrating post to write, because every time I approached it, my writing felt incomplete in some way, and it sparked a realisation; That i'm am writing to you from a place in which my own patience is being (minorly) tested. I want[ed] the post to become immediately cohesive, but instead I felt the need to be re-immersed into gaining more knowledge and understanding about Patient Love (Proverbs 4:7. Check it ā¤ļø) I believe it has really all been a preparation to get into a new sustainable rhythm with God; One in which God is at the center, and that my relationship with him through prayer, worship and his word is not compromised by my everyday life. Talking of rhythm, I shall leave two sermons at the end, one appropriately named The Rhythm Of Revival by Stephen Furtick, alongside a video named Stride//The Pace of Grace By Michael Todd (& more), of which illuminate how God sets the pace in our lives. Talking of rhythm, Patience has a rhythm that requires a repetition of love and faith, of which I shall delve.
To even approach this topic of Patient Love, I think we need to establish what patience is and love is. The Bible says in Galatians 5:22-23: "But the fruit of the Spirit [the result of His presence within us] is love [unselfish concern for others], joy, [inner] peace, patience [not the ability to wait, but how we act while waiting], kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law.(AMP)" Therefore, let us define Patience and Love accordingly:
Patience: How we act while waiting
Love: [God's] Unselfish [active and continual] concern/care [for others]
In order to fully understand Patience, you cannot do so without explaining Love, as 1 Corinthians 13:4 reads: "Love is patient, love is kind...."(NIV) .
In this post, I really just want to expound upon this picture of God's Patient Love, and in order to this I'm going to need a practical example. As Paul is the writer of Both Galatians and Corinthians, I'll be expanding upon Acts 9, In which Saul/ Paul of Tarsus (yup, the same Paul), on his way to persecute and kill Christians has an encounter with Jesus, and is blinded then healed, and his heart is transformed from one of the strongest ambassadors against Christianity, to one of the strongest apostles, writers and missionaries in the Bible. To do this, I shall break this story into two parts (strap in!š) The Bible says in Acts 9: 1-9: Ā "Meanwhile, Saul was uttering threats with every breath and was eager to kill the Lordās followers. So he went to the high priest. 2Ā He requested letters addressed to the synagogues in Damascus, asking for their cooperation in the arrest of any followers of the Way he found there. He wanted to bring themāboth men and womenāback to Jerusalem in chains.
3Ā As he was approaching Damascus on this mission, a light from heaven suddenly shone down around him. 4Ā He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, āSaul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?ā
5Ā āWho are you, lord?ā Saul asked.
And the voice replied, āI am Jesus, the one you are persecuting! 6Ā Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.ā
7Ā The men with Saul stood speechless, for they heard the sound of someoneās voice but saw no one! 8Ā Saul picked himself up off the ground, but when he opened his eyes he was blind. So his companions led him by the hand to Damascus. 9Ā He remained there blind for three days and did not eat or drink."
I understand that's a lot, (and there's more - sorry not sorry šš), But there are many characteristics of Godly patience that flow out of this story:
1. You can't be truly Patient without God's Love.
In Acts 9:1, it says: "Meanwhile, Saul was uttering threats with every breath and was eager to kill the Lordās followers..."
This is clearly not a man that logically deserves to be extended God's Love or patience, let alone use (If most of us were honest, most of us wouldn't.) But God's love transcends our human capacity to love, and has an inexhaustible capacity to forgive and bless.. You are never too broken for God to Love or use you. God loves all of us unmeasurably, and wishes us to be saved from the wages of our sin (death), as Christ took our place and took that sin upon himself as a Divine act of love. as Paul (yes, the same [P/S]aul) writes in 1 Corinthians 15 21-22: "For since [it was] by a man that death came [into the world], it is also by a Man that the resurrection of the dead has come. 22Ā For just as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive."
The world's dictionary definition of patience is as follows:"the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, problems, or suffering without becoming annoyed or anxious." This definition to me is so flawed and is how patience can function without God. If that is the case, then no true love has to be involved in patience, because toleration isn't love. This type of love has little to no real grounding in anything significant. God doesn't tolerate you, he loves you. Don't get me wrong, Tolerance can be a form of patience; God didn't condone what Saul was doing, but God had the boundless love and therefore the patience to wait for the right opportunity and the right people in place so that he could be most effective. So therefore seek and love God, as God loved you and sought after you first; that Love is always available to you, whether you choose to pay attention to it or not. Jesus only appeared to Saul because he knew that the only way he would reach him was through a way he could be most effective, so that God could bless others through him and that he be blessed by God, as it says in Jeremiah 29:11:"Ā For I know the plans I have for you,ā declares the Lord, āplans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." God wouldn't give the opportunity for salvation if he didn't love you.
2. God Gives Patience and Love.
Two things here - God interrupted his plans in order to extend his love towards him. The bible says in Acts 9:2:Ā "He requested letters addressed to the synagogues in Damascus, asking for their cooperation in the arrest of any followers of the Way he found there. He wanted to bring themāboth men and womenāback to Jerusalem in chains.(NLT)" Saul had a predetermined goal he had in mind, but God chose out of love to interrupt his story, and that came out of a place of patience. Even within this interruption of his story, he still had choice. In that same way, we all share the same choice to follow God's word and let his love be extended out of patience or not.
The extract continues in verse 3: '... āSaul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?ā ', and then Goes on to say in verse 5: āI am Jesus, the one you are persecuting!" Now, there seems to be a disparity, because verse 1 says Saul was persecuting the Lord's followers, But the disembodied voice of Jesus said that Saul was persecuting Jesus. How is this possible? Paul(Now Saul,To be Paul) writes in 1 Corinthians 6:15: "Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself?..." Jesus' sacrifice on the cross of his life in place of ours was (among many other things) the enabling act in which the spirit of God was allowed to dwell within all of us, as it says in John 14:26:Ā "However, the helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything. He will remind you of everything that I have ever told you." Furthermore, the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 6:19:"Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;"
"Why do I even mention this?", you may ask. In the old testament In order to come in contact with the spirit of God, the high priest had to enter on your behalf into the tabernacle in the holy of holies, in which people died because they were unclean. Jesus death and resurrection served the purpose of ridding us of the wages of sin (Death) but rising to new life [among other purposes]. It also allowed the outpouring of Grace to come upon our lives, that if we simply believe and trust in Jesus, we are saved. "The Lord's followers" as they are called here in Acts died for their faith, because they knew that their faith superseded their own desires. I personally wish for that type of faith in which my faith in Christ supersedes all things through my awareness of the larger tapestry of God's plan through all things, as it says in Romans 8:28:Ā "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." I'm not saying God requires your life, but I am saying... God requires your life (know what I mean?š). These early martyrs were patient in tolerance of Saul's persecution, as they knew their submission to the God they served superseded their season of life, and therefore were all personally empowered by the patience and love of God that dwelled within them. I'm certainly not saying that you should be perfect: Peter, a disciple and friend of Jesus denied Jesus 3 times in his hour of need; mistakes are expected, but you need to have the right heart posture that is after God in which true patience is allowed to manifest.
The second half of this side of God's patience is a picture of how God's love really does supersede our perception of others, and a true demonstration that Patience truly comes out of God's Love; Nothing majorly new here, just an articulation of the power of patience that you may not have instantly drawn upon.
To finish the story, the Bible says in Acts 9:10-19: Ā "10Ā Now there was a believer in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord spoke to him in a vision, calling, āAnanias!ā
āYes, Lord!ā he replied.
11Ā The Lord said, āGo over to Straight Street, to the house of Judas. When you get there, ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul. He is praying to me right now. 12Ā I have shown him a vision of a man named Ananias coming in and laying hands on him so he can see again.ā
13Ā āBut Lord,ā exclaimed Ananias, āIāve heard many people talk about the terrible things this man has done to the believers in Jerusalem! 14Ā And he is authorized by the leading priests to arrest everyone who calls upon your name.ā
15Ā But the Lord said, āGo, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel. 16Ā And I will show him how much he must suffer for my nameās sake.ā
17Ā So Ananias went and found Saul. He laid his hands on him and said, āBrother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road, has sent me so that you might regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.ā 18Ā Instantly something like scales fell from Saulās eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he got up and was baptized. 19Ā Afterward he ate some food and regained his strength."
Now, something I find specifically humorous, is that God gave [S/P]aul a vision of his healing by Ananias before he confronted Ananias about it. Even though Ananias was hesitant (and in honesty, on a humanistic level rightly so), He submitted to authority. This leads quite neatly into my next point, of which there are only a couple:
3: Patience takes submission of faith to God's authority.
This one is pretty simple: This event of salvation for [S/P]aul only takes place because of submission to authority. Saul submits, in which is articulated in verse 11: "11Ā The Lord said, āGo over to Straight Street, to the house of Judas. When you get there, ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul. He is praying to me right now." Ananias is eventually submitted in Verse 17 (N.B notice how the roles are subverted: Saul, the persecutor is submitted before Ananias, the Disciple is) : "So Ananias went and found Saul..." Saul's baptism is an act of submission that was a result of a patient love of God extended towards him, in combination with his divine experience with Christ. Patience takes submission to God's authority.
Let me also mention that Godly Patience is never empty. It's often required in a time of testing (however major or minor), and calls on an authenticity of faith that is dependent on God, rather than the gifts he has given you. As it says in 1 Peter 1:7: 7Ā "[so that] the genuineness of your faith, which is much more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested and purified by fire, may be found to result in [your] praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.(NLT)"
4: You are Chosen by God through Patience and Love.
Ananias describes who he perceives Paul to be in Acts 13-14: 13Ā āBut Lord,ā exclaimed Ananias, āIāve heard many people talk about the terrible things this man has done to the believers[c] in Jerusalem! 14Ā And he is authorized by the leading priests to arrest everyone who calls upon your name.ā In light of this,The LORD articulates in Ananias' vision who He(the LORD) has Chosen Saul to be in Acts 9:15: "But the Lord said, āGo, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel."
These words reveal just a slither of God's boundless love. But immediately the obvious argument against God's acts are:"God could just be manipulating Saul: he knows that he's a great ambassador, so tearing him down through the blinding of his sight is the best way to get him on his side, therefore this doesn't have to be an act of benevolence at all" And whilst on the surface this would suffice, this is a broken statement that only reveals two things that crushes this argument with Godly principles: God is faithful to his people, and Loves the broken. Saul was persecuting Christians; He was against God, and rather than for God to allow his people to further suffer under his 'jurisdiction', he doesn't only remove their oppressor but changes his heart, extends his boundless love towards him and describes him in a way that could only come out of love. Look at how God describes [S/P]aul as in Verse 15: "...Saul is my chosen instrument..."
God chose his persecutor as his chosen instrument before his heart had been fully changed. This is so inspiring to me, as it speaks that no matter your wrongs, or how much you think your right, God extends his love towards you patiently. Paul after this event during his life went on to write 13 letters in the Bible, and he himself was persecuted many times (this is no surprise, as the Lord says in verse 16:"for I will make clear to him how much he must suffer and endure for My nameās sake.ā(AMP)") There are levels of faith that I can't reach until I lay down my pride and self security at the door, And God calls us to make that decision daily, as the Bible says in The Bible says in Revelation 3:20: "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me." God doesn't force our hand in any decision, and it's up to you to take that responsibility of laying down everything because of the Love he extended to us first, both through his active hand over our lives and his sacrifice through his son, as it says in Luke 9:23: "Then he said to the crowd, āIf any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me.(NLT)" God's promises are fulfilled through his patience once you lay down your life for him. as it says in 1 Peter 5:7: "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you."
I've tried to ground this post about Patient Love as much as I can in the word, as it speaks much larger volumes about this part of the fruit of the spirit than I could ever articulate. Patience starts with God's love and through that realisation that true love and patience are God, that we are chosen By God through the same patient love, and that patience takes submission to God's authority and serves as an active period of service in the midst of testing. I shall leave all the promised links as well as a song by Guvna B that really summarizes this neatly.
God blessā¤ļø.
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