Be imitators of God in everything you do, for then you will represent your Father as his beloved sons and daughters. Ephesians 5:1 (TPT)
Has anyone ever called you “fruity?” Well, if no one else has, I will. You are fruity! Your life looks like a tree planted by the river that is popping out all kinds of fruit every day! You are a real “fruit ninja.” Shall I go on? You may be thinking I’m the fruity one. Well, I am, thank you for noticing!
Now that we have the pleasantries out of the way, let’s talk fruit. No, not strawberries, gooseberries or watermelon, but the good stuff: peace, joy and patience. Don’t get me wrong, I love fruit. But before I lose you to visions of sugar plums, let me clarify what I mean.
Galatians 5 tells us that the fruit of the Holy Spirit is already in us. You see, the word fruit used in this passage isn’t a verb, as in an action that you are to produce or do; it is a noun, meaning it is something you already possess. Language becomes important because many of us have spent our whole lives under immense pressure to bear fruit. We look more like a tree straining to pop out an apple than one that already has apples.
Patience is like the persimmon of the Spirit — underrated, misunderstood, and honestly a little suspicious until you experience it properly. We have been told pursuing patience will bring uncomfortable inconvenience into our lives (like having to wait more than a day for our Amazon package to arrive). Maybe that is why attending a conference about patience isn’t at the top of our list. Who wants to intentionally invite any more difficulty and torment into our schedule? And besides, can we really learn patience in six easy sessions? Probably not.
God has been practicing patience since Genesis. Humanity alone has given Him plenty of opportunities to reconsider this whole experiment. The Lamb was slain before the foundation of the world, which means patience did not start with your toddler, your spouse, or rush hour traffic. (Galatians 4:4) God had to wait until the fullness of time for Jesus to come and make the ultimate sacrifice to restore His family. He was patience personified, fruit revealed.
We treat patience like the weird cousin nobody wants to sit next to. And yet, if God is good and gives good gifts, then how can patience be so bad?
For God, patience is not inconvenient. It isn’t something He struggles to muster up when we are slow to “get it,” whatever “it” is. To experience the patience of God is never to feel the pressure of missing something, because His nature is to wait without anxiety. He is never concerned about the outcome or bothered by the waiting. God understands that while we stand in the tension of the wait, we become entwined with Him in ways that strengthen our connection. (Isaiah 33:2)
So ask God to reveal Himself as patience this week. And no, that does not automatically mean your internet will stop working, or you will get a flat tire. Turns out patience may not be rotten fruit after all. It isn’t punishment; it is an intentional encounter with Love.