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Introduction
Advent is a season of waiting for the arrival of the Messiah. It is a season that brings to mind the fact that God’s people had to wait many years for the long-promised Messiah, and that now we are waiting for his return.
When Jesus arrived, he brought the kingdom with him, but not in the way people expected.
He fulfilled all the Scriptures that spoke about the Messiah, but in ways that showed the true nature of God as humble, compassionate, and gracious.
He did not come to reinstate Israel as a powerful nation as in the days of David and Solomon, but to bring the eternal kingdom of God to earth.
It is a kingdom not of political power but of true power known best through humble sacrificial love.
In John 20:31, it says that all the things written in John’s Gospel were recorded so that all who hear and read it will believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing we may have life in his name.
The question we need to constantly be asking is, what sort of life is this?
We will know the answer to this question by examining the life and teaching of Jesus and his disciples as recorded and preserved in the New Testament.
This is the primary purpose of the church: to know and live the life of the Kingdom, here and now, as we await Christ’s return.
Our advent series is all about how we wait. It is about the posture we hold as prepare for the return of Jesus.
We wait not passively, but with a posture of active thanksgiving, patience, humility, and joy.
Last week we focused on the posture of Thanksgiving. Today we will focus on the posture of patience.
The passage I want us to remember this week is from James 5.
James 5:7–8 “Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near.”
As a practical illustration of such patience, James refers to a farmer who waits patiently for that which he cannot control.
He doesn’t just plant the seed and forget about it. He continues to work at doing whatever he can to foster a good environment for growth.
But, in waiting for the harvest, there is so much outside of a farmer’s control.
In a similar way, we must wait patiently for the return of Jesus.
As Christians, we are to live in community with one another as though the kingdom Jesus brought to earth is already here.
And this requires patience.
What is the Posture of Patience?
Over the years of studying the Bible, one of the most helpful revelations for me has been that the biblical authors are often describing things in terms of contrast.
The very first contrasting description is right at the beginning, in the creation narrative.
The original audience was already familiar with common creation stories, which mostly involved conflict and chaos.
In the creation narrative given by God as recorded in Genesis, the Israelites were meant to see the stark contrast between the chaotic and violent versions told by the other traditions and the peaceful and orderly creation of their God, Yahweh.
The same stark contrast exists in their sacrificial system and laws.
The way they were to govern themselves involved a much greater dose of compassion and forgiveness than other nations.
We often miss these contrasts because we are so far removed culturally from the original audience.
When we take some time to learn the cultural and historical context of the original audience, we start to appreciate just how radically different our God is than other gods.
One of these differences is in how patient he is.
The words used in the Hebrew and Greek for patience may be rendered in the English as endurance, long-suffering, forbearance, steadfastness, or to be slow to anger or to delay.
The image I have previously used to describe the patience of God in the Old Testament is to be long in the nose. The way God is described regarding his anger is that he has a long nose.
It’s sort of a funny image to us, but it means that he doesn’t lose his cool quickly. He is not hot-tempered. He delays his anger.
Critiques of Christianity often involve the fact that God doesn’t deal properly with the evil and injustice in the world. This is due to his patience.
2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”
Most commonly, patience in the Bible is used to describe the ability to take a great deal of punishment from evil people or circumstances without losing one’s temper, without becoming irritated and angry, or without taking vengeance.
It includes the capacity to bear pain or trials without complaint, the ability to forbear under severe provocation, and the self-control which keeps one from acting rashly even though suffering opposition or adversity.
In this way, we are to take on God’s character of patience. This brings us to why the posture of patience is important.
Why is the Posture of Patience Important?
The most common reason we are given for the death and resurrection of Jesus is so that he could pay the price for our sins.
And why did he have to do that? The simple answer is so that we can get into heaven.
This is, unfortunately, an oversimplification. If we are going to become mature Christians, we have to move past this basic understanding.
From the very beginning, we as humans were meant to bear God’s image. We are meant to look and behave like God. We are, in literal terms, icons of God.
God told the Israelites not to make engraved icons to represent him, as the other nations do, because there is no replacement for the true image bearers of God, which is humanity itself.
The trouble is, because of sin, we are tarnished and decaying icons of God. We are poor representatives.
So, Jesus came as God’s perfect human image and through his death and resurrection he made a way for all humanity to become perfect images.
Our response to this work of Jesus is to live in such a way to become increasingly like the icons we are meant to be so that those who do not know God can know him through us.
And the cool thing is, each one of us is a unique image.
When we were in Greece, there were all these shops where we could buy Greek Orthodox icons. Icons are artistic representations of various saints from throughout the history of the church.
One icon I was particularly interested in finding is based on a fifteenth century painting originally called “The Hospitality of Abraham” but more commonly known as “The Trinity” by Russian artist Andrei Rublev.
Ideally, I wanted a hand-painted copy. I found one in a shop but after seeing the price of the hand-painted one, I decided to buy a printed copy instead.
It is still beautiful, with the printed image on a sheet of gold foil, but it is not unique.
The hand painted icons are faithful representations of the original, but each one has unique characteristics.
We are not made in china icons of God. We are hand made, one of a kind. But every image needs to have certain characteristics in order to be a good likeness of the original.
If we are to be good image bearers of God, then we will learn to have the sort of patience that God has. And what sort of patience is this?
He is…
- Nehemiah 9:17 “…a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love.”
- Psalm 86:15 “…a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.”
- Exodus 34:6 “…the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness,”
In the story of Jonah, we see the contrast between our sinful human nature and God’s perfect patience.
Jonah was reluctant to go to Nineveh to proclaim God’s call to repentance because he knew that God would forgive them instead of destroy them.
And this is exactly what happened. The people of Nineveh repented and God spared them. Jonah then said to God:
Jonah 4:2 “Isn’t this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.”
The New Testament also repeatedly proclaims the patience of God.
In Romans, Paul is contrasting human impatience and judgment with God’s patience and kindness.
Romans 2:3–4 “So when you, a mere human being, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?”
The delay in Christ’s return is not an indication of slowness on God’s part, but of his long-suffering, not being willing that anyone should perish.
1 Timothy 1:16 “But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me [Paul], the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life.”
Patience then, which is an attribute of our God and of our Lord Jesus Christ, is also meant to characterize each Christian.
Paul’s desire for Christians is that they might demonstrate patience. We see this throughout letters:
Colossians 1:11 “being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience,”
It is one of the fruits of the Spirit: Galatians 5:22 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,”
an attribute of love: 1 Corinthians 13:4 “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.”
and a virtue: Colossians 3:12 “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”
In addition to being good image-bearers of God, a primary reason for patience is so that we do not give up hope as we wait for return of Jesus.
Like the farmer waiting for the right time to harvest instead of throwing in the towel when the crops are taking too long, we cannot give up on our hope just because Jesus seems to be taking too long for his return.
When we grow impatient with God, we need to be reminded that God’s patience and delay in Christ’s return is his kindness.
And we need to remember that just because he hasn’t yet done what we expect him to do, it doesn’t mean we give up on him.
In a book called Patience with God, Thomas Halik writes:
I’m convinced that maturing in one’s faith also entails accepting and enduring moments—and sometimes even lengthy periods—when God seems remote or remains concealed.
What is obvious and demonstrable doesn’t require faith. We don’t need faith when confronted with unshakable certainties accessible to our powers of reason, imagination, or sensory experience.
We need faith precisely at those twilight moments when our lives and the world are full of uncertainty, during the cold night of God’s silence.
And its function is not to reduce our thirst for certainty and safety, but to teach us to live with mystery.
Faith and hope are expressions of our patience at just such moments—and so is love. Love without patience is not real love.
How do I Improve My Posture of Patience?
Just as with the message on thanksgiving last Sunday, I’ll offer some suggestions for practical ways you can improve your posture as it relates to patiences.
There are other things you can and should do, such as pray for God’s patience to characterize your life. None of these practices should be pursued without prayer.
First, throughout the day, write down things you have questions about instead of just looking them up immediately. We have a tendency, and it’s easier now than ever with AI-enabled tools, to get answers to our questions as soon as they come up.
Write them down, and then set aside an intentional time in the evening or morning to properly research them. Instead of using Google, try an online encyclopedia, dictionary, or maybe even a physical book. Go to a library, or a bookstore and browse the topics.
This will take time and require you to sit with the question longer than you’re used to. It will help you sit with a posture of patience in the midst of uncertainty and mystery.
Second, consider someone or a few people in your life who you tend to be impatient with. These could be people whose behaviour is misaligned with your convictions. Or, people who you have been praying for to come to church. Or, maybe your kids, siblings, parents, or co-workers who just get on your nerves regularly.
Commit to praying not just for them, but for yourself in your relationship with them.
Ask God to increase your patience with them so that you can get a taste of what it must be like for God to be patient with you.
Finally, consider liturgical and disciplined practices such as the Advent season we are in now. There are more seasons such as this and if you want to learn all about them, I can recommend some resources.
Allow a structured practice to shape your daily and weekly rhythms.
This helps with patience because, instead of jumping around the Bible or books based on whatever catches your attention in the moment, you are directed through a well-established rhythm meant to shape us.
One of the practices of patience is our communion table. It is a practice of patience because it proclaims that our Lord, who brought, is bringing, and will finally and fully bring God’s kingdom to earth.
In the meantime, while we wait, let’s come to the table and receive once again the blessing of the presence of God through Jesus Christ our Lord.