Our Father is patient…

2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slow concerning his promise, as some count slowness; but is patient with us, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. (WEB)

One of the attributes of the fruit of the Holy Spirit listed in Galatians 5:22-23 is patience. The Apostle Paul also describes patience as a descriptor for love in 1 Corinthians 13:4 when he says ‘love is patient’. Patience is something we so appreciate in others when they are dealing with our own shortcomings. But patience can sometimes be in short supply when we ourselves are dealing with other people’s faults.

In today’s Scripture reading, the Apostle Peter tells us that our Father is very patient with us. And not only is our heavenly Dad patient with us, He exercises that same patience with all of humanity. It is not His heart that even one should perish, so He waits and waits, then waits some more that all should come to repentance and come into a relationship with His beloved Son, Jesus Christ.

My prayer today is that we would all see the heart of love that causes our heavenly Father to not only be patient with us, but with those around us who are not yet saved. May we all be so captivated with His heart for humanity that we share in His own patient waiting for people’s salvation.

The reason that He waits is for their redemption. His heart for the lost is not to judge them but to save them (John 12:47). If we truly carry His heart within us, we will feel the same way. May we all ask our Father for the same patience that He has shown to us so that we can be patient with those around us too. Fully knowing that our Father continues to wait and watch, not wishing that even one should perish.

John 3:16-17
For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God didn’t send his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through him. (WEB)