Thoughts that carry me to Jesus, and to the Cross:

“But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and merciful God. You are patient and demonstrate great loyal love and faithfulness.” (Psalm 86:15, NET)

God communicates his will to humanity so that the whole human race may take part in his divine life. In his high priestly prayer in John’s Gospel, Christ prays to the Father, saying:
I revealed your name to those whom you gave me out of the world. They belong to you, and you gave them to me, and they kept your word. I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me. (John 17:6, 20; author’s translation)
The purpose of God’s revelation to humanity is for humanity to share in his divinity

Patience.

A virtue that is quite misunderstood at its core.

We think of it as being willing to wait a time in order to see our wants and desire come to fruition. I waited patiently in line for this, or I waited patiently for my promotion, or to be noticed by that person. Too often patience is intertwined with our own self-centeredness, our own narcissistic

I think if the goal is primarily about us, while it is delayed gratification, it isn’t the fullness of what patience is, at least scripturally. I think patience, Godly patience, is waiting for the best to occur to someone else. God’s will was to bless us, for us to take part in His divinity, in His glory, in His eternal life. It was already His, He didn’t have to wait for it, but He waits for us to join Him, to share in that life He plans for us.

Does He benefit? Yes, in seeing us benefit.

Is God willing to be patient with our understanding, our internalizing His revelation? Absolutely! All scripture testifies to His  guiding our individual and communal journey toward Him.

There is nothing more important in life that this, nothing more amazing to think through, nothing more important to wait for–For that is what God is patient with, turning our very lives into works of art.

This is why we praise our God, for His vision of making us one with Him and in Him, and His patience and love which makes this happen.

(and now, let us imitate God, and be patient with others whom God is working on….)

De Gaál, E. (2018). O Lord, I Seek Your Countenance: Explorations and Discoveries in Pope Benedict XVI’s Theology (M. Levering, Ed.; p. 180). Emmaus Academic.