Patience

As a man grows in his knowledge of God's word 
and gets increasingly precise and accurate in his 
understanding of the same, one thing he must 
learn is patient with, and tolerance of the people 
who are still where he used to be... 
people who do not now know what he knows. 
Should he fail to learn this, he would be unable to
 serve these precious saints of God with his precise 
understanding of God's word, and if he is unable to 
so serve, then what exactly is he doing the Body?
The overwhelming testimony of God in the holy writ 
is his longsuffering...his patience with and tolerance 
of men. 
This always holds my mind spellbound!! 
I'm amazed at how much God believes the best of 
men, and bears with us, in our shortcomings, and 
inadequacies. 
He proudly calls us Son, and doesn't scoff when we 
call him Dad. Look at God as a man! 
His group of disciples just ran away from him, leaving 
Him alone, and He returns three days later, to commit 
all of God's plan for the earth in the hands of these 
same runaway guys. 
That messes up my mind big time. 
Much more, it straightens it! Guess who he even gave 
a leadership role to? The very dude who blatantly 
denied him before a maid! 
This never ceases to subdue my mind in utmost awe.
 I continually instruct myself to keep my eyes on this
 pattern and handle God's men just like that. 
I must be P.A.T.I.E.N.T!! 
So you see, dear friends, we will always have members 
of our family who don't know as much as we do, and 
to make matters worse, they even insult and slander 
us in the process. 
The arrogance of some in their ignorance will almost 
make you wanna puke. And you be like... 
Oya goan die in your ignorance na, shey o lo stupid ni. 
But hey...hey...that's the flesh right there! 
And don't play the Pharisees card here, because they 
aren't Jesus' family members. 
They aren't born again! How you treat family is always 
different.
 A.L.W.A.Y.S!!!
While knowledge must be bold, unrelenting, passionate, 
zealous, undaunting, it must also be PATIENT. 
None of these virtues is contrary to the other. 
God never ceased to continue to confront man with 
His plan over the ages, yet He was patient in that activity. 
He is our set-pattern! That perfect example to emulate.
Impatience and losing-your-cool, will never ever be of God. 
Yeah, it happens to the best of us, even my very self, 
but when we see that we are crossing that line, let the 
image of that patient Dad that we have wash over our 
minds and in that washing, dear friend, kulu temper!
You'd always come across people who sing songs that 
you know is not accurate. But don't mock, or scoff, or 
do that awry mischievous laugh. Remember, that was 
exactly you few years ago. And God neither mocked 
nor scoffed at you.
 The least you can do is extend same courtesy to others. 
Yeah?
It actually takes a lot less energy to simply explain and 
put forth the truth. 
And should the fellow decide not to heed, then you've 
done what you should. 
Believe the best of him. 
He'll come around. 
Afterall, you also came around. 
Right? You perhaps even were more violent and arrogant 
in your ignorance back in the day, but you did come around 
las las. Right?
 Okay, believe that that brother can come around too. 
The reason many of us are here today in God's salvation is 
because of the patience of God. 
The reason many of us today have found God's truth and 
are making progress in it, is because the patience of 
certain men.
And the reason someone else will have same experience 
later in the future would be because of our patience.
Friends, let's put on that garment of longsuffering. 
Paul actually taught that if our knowledge doesn't serve 
the saints in the love of Christ, then what it'll do is puff us up.
 His emphasis is sacrosanct: we are to serve the saints in 
everything, and with everything, our knowledge inclusive.
Wordman, heed this, and in heeding this, you shall "save" many.

Blessed.