It's been a long drought for Chicago Cubs fans. In fact, it's been exactly 100 years since their last World Series Championship in 1908. It's hard to imagine that their last championship came a time when the Cubs were considered one of the best teams in the major leagues.
Since then, the Cubs have occasionally made the playoffs and teased their fans with thoughts of another championship only to ultimately disappoint their faithful in the end. But 2008 has been an atypical season for the Cubs so far. They have one of the best records in the majors and are leading their division as play resumes this week following the All-Star break. Suddenly the idea of a World Series Championship in 2008 doesn't seem too far-fetched.
But Cubs fans know not to get their hopes up too soon. They've been down this road too many times before. Their faithful (and I admit, I have been one of them for the past twenty years) know that things could still go horribly wrong before the year is out. Often, their fans are referred to as longsuffering because of the many years they've waited for a championship team. As the Bible shows us, there is much more to longsuffering that simply waiting patiently for our hopes and dreams to be fulfilled.
The most vivid picture that Scripture gives us of longsuffering is the life of Job. The Bible tells us that Job was a righteous man and that Satan sought to test him. God allowed Job to endure trials beyond what many of us could possibly imagine. All the while he remained strong in his faith in God despite what his circumstances and his s0-called friends told him.
The apostle Paul refers to longsuffering as one of the fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23. Unfortunately, many modern translations substitute patience for longsuffering. The dictionary defines patience as "an ability or willingness to suppress restlessness or annoyance when confronted with delay". To me, this speaks more to how we wait in line at the drive-thru at McDonald's rather than enduring trials. Patiently waiting for something or someone holds with it a promise that the thing wished for will be provided at some point in the future.
By contrast, the dictionary defines longsuffering as "long and patient endurance of injury, trouble, or provocation". Longsuffering is the ability to endure trials and tribulations with no definite end in sight. Paul again helps us understand biblical longsuffering when speaks of the "thorn in his flesh" (2 Corinthians 12:7-10) which many speculate to be some type of ailment that plagued him throughout his life. God's purpose in not removing Paul's burden was twofold: to keep him humble and to rely on God for everything he needed.
God uses our trials to strengthen our faith in Him (James 1:2-4). He wants us to not only patiently endure them but to develop the spirtiual discipline of longsuffering. It is not merely being patient but waiting upon the Lord to provide even when it doesn't look like He will. It also means humbling ourselves and allowing Him to complete His perfect work in us.
No comments:
Post a Comment