PATIENCE 2

In Luke 10 when Martha welcomed Jesus into her home, her motive was to exchange good hospitality for his affection. It ended in disaster for Martha. This encounter is much different. Like the visit to her home, she is upset and disappointed by Jesus’ apparent inattention to her need. This time, however, she presents her need and her feelings without the anger and frustration present before. Her focus was on Jesus not any preparations. She was free from the tension of “Let’s make a deal.”

Spirit-produced patience moves us beyond the need to bargain with Jesus for what we want. Before it does that it first enables us to be honest with God about why we want what we want. The role of confession is vital at this point. Daily confession is not for the purpose of rehashing our sins. Its purpose is to provide a setting for an honest look at what motivates our actions. We then take responsibility for our sinful motives and actions. God responds by forgiving our sin for the sake of Christ’s payment for our sin on the cross. Not only does he forgive us but also he goes on to purify the motives of our hearts (1 John 1:8-9). All this the Holy Spirit works in our hearts to prepare us to bring our requests to God.

When Jesus visited Martha’s house, she had an issue with Mary and her failure to help her in the kitchen. But it was Jesus who caught the brunt of her anger. Martha had failed to establish healthy boundaries. Her preparations took her to the point of exhaustion and total frustration rather than to service. Her worrying and stewing over Mary’s failure to help and Jesus’ apparent lack of concern led her to be very rude to her house guest. Her outburst brought a reprimand from Jesus.

The fruit of patience brought a different Martha to Jesus this time. Instead of anger and frustration demanding that Jesus take action, Martha patiently presented her need concerning her brother. Once our motives have been clarified and purified through confession and forgiveness, we too will find that our emotions do not have as much power to force us beyond healthy boundaries whether in our relationship to God or to others. Patience helps us to seek not merely what is right from our perspective but to receive from God what is righteous in his eyes. Patience helps us recognize when we are pushing ourselves too far. Patience shifts our focus from self and self-pity to Christ and his love for us.

In this brief exchange between Jesus and Martha, we can sense that Martha genuinely accepts Jesus’ words of comfort. Pride is always suspicious of the motives of others. It always reads into others’ words of comfort and affection its own selfishness and ambition. It ultimately robs us of the very thing we desperately seek, which is the love and affection of others.

Patience given by the Holy Spirit produces much different fruit. It recognizes that not everyone will express affection the way we might. It is willing to give others the benefit of the doubt when they do not respond to our acts of affection the way we think they should. It rejoices in the moments of intimacy we are given with friends and loved ones. It enables us to let go of times when we are unappreciated. Patience always reminds us that our worth is in the one who died for us and rose again to give us eternal life. His first motive in dealing with us is always love.