Longsuffering

It has been suggested that my blog posts are a little too long.  Most folks look here for a pithy comment or as a sort of devotional.  My ideas usually take longer to lay out.  So, I’m going to try something new, a short post here and the thought and research behind it on a page listed on the right of this post.  If you are viewing this on a tablet or phone, you might have to scroll down to the bottom of the screen.  So, if you would like to read more on the subject, just look for a page with the same title.  Here is my first attempt at this.  The following is a word study on “longsuffering:”

Longsuffering:

Galatians 5:22-23 (NKJV)
²²  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³  gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

God may well be longsuffering in His goodness to show His riches and glory in the lost who are being saved.  Just look at Paul as an example:  He was a murderer and a blasphemer, yet God uses him to show us how longsuffering He is toward the sinner.

As Christians, we are to be joyfully longsuffering toward others in the body of Christ.  It is one of the fruit of the spirit, part of the Christian walk, and identifies God’s elect. Persecution should be faced with faith and longsuffering.  We should follow the examples of those who faced death and torture but faced it with faith and longsuffering.  These and the prophets of old are our examples for how we should act.

Pastors should be longsuffering with their congregants lest they drive them into the arms of false teachers.

So, be tolerant of others especially for fellow Christians.  Realize that God is extremely patient with the lost and so should we be.  We are examples to the world of God’s character.  Let’s not drive people away and into the arms of false teachers.