The fruit longsuffering, is a fruit, that is needed in our world Today. How many times, do people loose their patience and become angry, when someone insults them? How many times, do people feel offended, upset, and want to take revenge, because someone has mistreated them? How many times, do people complain and murmur because of the situation they are experiencing. Muchas veces, people loose their patience and let their feelings and emotions rule over them. What does the Bible say about the fruit longsuffering?
What causes you to loose your patience?
When you loose your patience, it is because something happened against su voluntad o expectations. Some causes can be: someone is having another opinion, a miscommunication, not listening, wrong interpretation, misbehaviour, desobediencia (when someone doesn’t want to listen to your instruction), failure, irritation etc.
It can occur between a husband and wife, parent and child, teacher and student, managers and employees, amigos, conocidos, vecinos, creyentes, niños, Tu dilo. Tu podrias decir, that loosing your patience and becoming upsad and angry, originates from selfishness.
How many people are having quarrels with someone? These quarrels started with a disagreement, or they felt offended and/or insulted.
But loosing your patience and angriness is a fruit of the flesh and not of the Spirit. It is the total opposite of longsuffering.
Who’s pushing your buttons?
Often times people say: “that person knows exactly how to push my buttons". Pero la verdad es, that you have no buttons! Therefore if you have no buttons, no one can pushes them. When you say this, or when you feel offended, and live in unforgiveness, it only shows, eso your flesh has not died yet. You are still carnal and are still being ruled by your flesh, en lugar de that your spirit rules over your flesh.
Tú eres el único, who is able to reign over your flesh. Your spirit can rule over your emotions and your feelings. It is up to you, who will be the greater authority in your life: your spirit or your flesh.
Cuando caminas según el Espíritu, then nothing can take you off guard. You will not be moved by anything, but will live in absolute peace.
El Señor es paciente
Look at God and look at Jesus, they are the perfect example of longsuffering. Longsuffering was and is one of Their characteristics. Sí, our Father is longsuffering:
- The LORD is longsuffering, y de gran misericordia, perdonando la iniquidad y la transgresión, y de ninguna manera absolver a los culpables, visitar la iniquidad de los padres sobre los hijos hasta la tercera y cuarta generación (número 14:18)
- pero tú, Oh Señor, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longanimidad, and plenteous in mercy and truth (Salmo 86:15)
- Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? (ROM 2:4)
- Which sometime were disobedient, cuando una vez esperó la paciencia de Dios en los días de Noé, mientras el arca se preparaba, donde pocos, eso es, eight souls were saved by water. (1 Educación física 3:20)
- El Señor no tarda en cumplir su promesa, como algunos hombres cuentan la holgazanería; sino que es paciente para con nosotros., no queriendo que alguno perezca, sino que todos procedan al arrepentimiento (2 Educación física 3:9)
We have been made into His image. His Holy Spirit lives in us, therefore if we walk after the Spirit we shall also bear fruit longsuffering.
What does longsuffering mean?
Longsuffering is translated from the Greek word makrothumia (G3115) y significa: longanimity, eso es, (objectively) forbearance or (subjectively) fortitude: – longanimidad, paciencia.
According to the dictionaries, longsuffering means:
- Suffering for a long time without complaining : very patient during difficult times , patiently enduring lasting offense or hardship (Merriam Webster)
- Patiently enduring wrongs or difficulties. (The American Heritage Dictionary)
- Enduring pain, unhappiness, etc without complaint, long and patient endurance (Collins English dictionary)
There may be things happening in your life right now, which gives you a good reason to murmur and complain, or to be up sad, mad, angry etc. Maybe you’ve been mistreated or insulted by someone else, or maybe you’ve become seriously ill, or you’ve become disabled due to an accident, which wasn’t your fault.
But if you walk after the Spirit and bear the fruit of the Spirit, you will bear the fruit longsuffering. When you bear the fruit longsuffering, you won’t murmur and complain, you won’t feel up sad, mad angry. When you are longsuffering then nothing will affect you, but you will stay in perfect peace. Wen you bear the fruit longsuffering, than no one and nothing can make you mad or angry; no one can pushes your buttons. Because you have no buttons anymore; your flesh died.
The fruit longsuffering visible in the lives of the saints
Paul wrote often about the fruit longsuffering. He wrote about his walk as a servant of the Lord and how the saints should behave and walk:
- But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, In stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings; By pureness, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned, By the word of truth, por el poder de Dios, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, By honour and dishonour, by evil report and good report: as deceivers, and yet true; As unknown, and yet well known; as dying, y, Mirad, we live; as chastened, and not killed; As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things (2 Co 6:4-10)
- Pero el fruto del Espíritu es amor., alegría, paz, longanimidad, dulzura, bondad, fe, mansedumbre, templanza: Contra tales cosas no hay ley (Chica 5:22-23)
- I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Efemérides 4:1-3)
- Fortalecido con todas las fuerzas, according to his glorious power, a toda paciencia y longanimidad con alegría (Columna 1:11)
- Put on therefore, as the elect of God, santo y amado, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, mansedumbre, longanimidad; forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye (Columna 3:12-13)
- Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting (1 Timo 1:16)
- Predicar la palabra; ser instantáneo en temporada, fuera de temporada; reprender, reprensión, exhortar con toda paciencia y doctrina (2 Timo 4:2)
What or who is your source in life?
When Jesus Christ is your Source, and when you live after the Spirit, you shall bear the fruit longsuffering. You shall have patience and will walk in the spiritual authority of Jesus Christ. You will have power and will rule over every carnal emotion and feeling, like self-pity, enojo, odio, impatience etc.
But when your source is the flesh (el diablo, el mundo) and you feed yourself with the things of the world, then you shall bear the fruit of angriness, odio, impatience etc. When the slightest thing happen in your life, irritation will arise, and shall lead to impatience, and outbreaks of anger, odiar, aggressiveness etc.
It is therefore important, to draw from the right Source. Por lo tanto, stay in Gods Word and develop your identity from the Word of God, instead of movies, television-series, revistas, libros, social media etc.
Put on the man
Remember that before you nació de nuevo, you lived like the world. You lived according to the lusts and desires of your flesh.
For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, desobediente, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another (Tit 3:3)
Por lo tanto, dejar de lado al viejo and its deeds and ponte el hombre nuevo, who is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him, that created him. Put on Jesus Christ.
When you stay in His word, y caminar según el Espíritu, you will not fulfil the lusts of your flesh. You will not bear the fruit of the flesh, but you will produce the fruit of the Spirit.
You may also like to read: the fruit of peace
'Sé la sal de la tierra’
