Forbearance

Forbearance is defined as 1. the act of forbearing; a refraining from something 2. forbearing conduct or quality; patient endurance; self-control. What are you patiently enduring at this time of your life, Dear Reader? There is something wonderful about forbearing. It is a way of holding ourselves, conducting ourselves for the sake of what is to be. There is a romanticism in the forbearance, a mystical belief that in the current suffering or enduring of what is, something beyond hope and imagination will become. The stuff of dreams comes from forbearance, does it not Dear One? When looked at from a practical standpoint, we can view this as students, studying life and all of its materials with the end goal being mastery of all the learning. To assimilate the lessons, integrate them and make them a part of who we are is the hoped for outcome. As I am beating around this philosophical bush, I realize that I must come to a point. There is the big picture, the grand scheme, the visionary view and the act of forbearing requires that at all costs, we keep our eyes on the prize. You want an example, Dear One? Look here, listen now. As Christians, you already know what you must endure patiently in an unbelieving, God denying, Jesus rejecting world. You suffer the ignorance of being called a fool, being attacked for your naïveté, your convenient belief in a God that doesn't exist because of your fears of facing the truth. You are told that you crawled out of a primordial soup, a goop that created itself magically and for the sake of Christ, you endure the mockery, the slags, the unbelief and the attacks on your intelligence. This is not about a woes me pity party for your suffrage, Dear One, that is not my driving point. Look here, listen again. This is about Jesus Christ and His modelling for us the forbearance required to turn hearts toward heaven. This is about loving your neighbour, brother, sister, children, husband, wife, friend in the way Christ did, despite their unbelief because in the grand scheme, they may one day be with you in heaven as a result of your earthly example of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. We are to be grace filled, God inspired in our hopes for the salvation of others, never a stumbling block, but a Holy Witness. You may or may not be evolved in your maturing as a patient, enduring, self-controlled believer. You may still be offended often, self conscious about what the world thinks and believes about you. This is okay and at the same time, you are well on your way Dear One, to the evolution of your spirit and union with the Holy Spirit. For the sake of the kingdom, we must forbear. The stakes are too high not to.