The fruit of the Spirit . . . Patience

Now we come to patience, the King James Version renders it longsuffering. The Greek word is makrothumia (mac-row-thume-ee-a), which is a derivative of makrothumos (mac-row-thume-oss), which is the combining of the Greek words makros (mac-ross) and thumos (thume-oss). Makros means long, and thumos means anger or wrath. So, hopefully, you can see how we get to the term longsuffering. Now to the meaning of the derived makrothumia, it means forbearance, or the quality of a person who is able to avenge himself yet refrains from doing so. So, there's your Greek lesson for today.

So how do we apply all of that to the fruit of the Spirit? To honestly describe it I must put it this way: I have been the beneficiary of the makrothumia of a great many of my instructors, especially in seminary. For those of you who don't know, learning is sometimes an ugly process. Better teachers understand that not all students start from the same place. While you may immediately recognize a child as a prodigy; they may first have to be taught that they can, before they begin turning out work congruous with their talent. It is through the forbearance of good teachers, that I learned to teach; through the forbearance of good Christians, that I learned to grow; and it is through the forbearance of my God and my friends, that I learn to become a better man. Thank you and God bless you all.