“We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.” – Hebrews 6:12
I was recently in a conference which featured Dr. Charles Lowery as a key speaker. What a privilege it was to hear his message on leadership and developing those characteristics within our personalities. Dr. Lowery is a psychologist and public speaker, and uses common everyday life stories and humor to encourage his audience with a life changing message. One of the illustrations that he used was from a study in the 1960’s on patience, originally conducted by Walter Mischel at Stanford University in California. In this study, children (typically between ages 4 and 6) were brought into a room 1 at a time and sat in a chair. A marshmallow was placed on the table in front of them and they were told, you can eat this marshmallow now, or if you wait until I return I will give you 2 marshmallow’s. Several children were then observed and evaluated on their ability to exercise patience waiting for the observer to return and give them a 2nd marshmallow. Children pick at that marshmallow, toy with it, smell it and then a large percentage of them would nibble at it, and then eat it. The small percentage that waited were able to exercise patience and experience the rewards of their effort. The interesting thing in this research was what happened several years later when these children took the SAT test and scored over 200 points greater than those that had not exercised patience with the marshmallow.
Patience is a virtue that is often spoke of in the writings of Paul as it relates to the return of Jesus Christ. Focusing our attention on the prize at the end of the race becomes a key thread to the life and ministry of Paul as he traveled throughout the Mediterranean Basin in the years following his conversion. The challenge he faced though was breaking through the desperation of those he was preaching to. Imagine if you can that you were living in Jerusalem in those days and you had personally witnessed the crucifixion of Jesus Christ just a year ago. You had heard Him speak before He died about love, forgiveness and serving God. You had witnessed His miracles in the streets of Jerusalem and the surrounding villages. Now, here was this man standing on the footsteps of the temple preaching that Jesus Christ will return one day, just be patient. Your family history is painted with stories of waiting on the Lord. For 400 years God had been silent, and this man Jesus was supposed to be “the One” to rule over all and break the bondage. He was killed and here is Paul asking you to wait for Him to come back?
Yes, that is the message. But, it’s not a message of waiting, but a message of living. You see very much like the children in the marshmallow research, we have to see past the immediate, instant pleasure and gratification and remain focused on the ultimate reward. In doing so it is important to live by the principles and examples of our Savior. He came that we all might have life and that more abundantly (John 10:10). He gave us a message of hope of something greater than what we are experiencing in this life, something with eternal implications. By faith we are asked to trust and believe in Him and His message of eternity. This is the reward for our patience – eternal life with God the Father in heaven one day. Although there are many wonderful marshmallows in this life, exercising a little patience will go a long way when this life comes to an end.
Patience is a virtue that is often spoke of in the writings of Paul as it relates to the return of Jesus Christ. Focusing our attention on the prize at the end of the race becomes a key thread to the life and ministry of Paul as he traveled throughout the Mediterranean Basin in the years following his conversion. The challenge he faced though was breaking through the desperation of those he was preaching to. Imagine if you can that you were living in Jerusalem in those days and you had personally witnessed the crucifixion of Jesus Christ just a year ago. You had heard Him speak before He died about love, forgiveness and serving God. You had witnessed His miracles in the streets of Jerusalem and the surrounding villages. Now, here was this man standing on the footsteps of the temple preaching that Jesus Christ will return one day, just be patient. Your family history is painted with stories of waiting on the Lord. For 400 years God had been silent, and this man Jesus was supposed to be “the One” to rule over all and break the bondage. He was killed and here is Paul asking you to wait for Him to come back?
Yes, that is the message. But, it’s not a message of waiting, but a message of living. You see very much like the children in the marshmallow research, we have to see past the immediate, instant pleasure and gratification and remain focused on the ultimate reward. In doing so it is important to live by the principles and examples of our Savior. He came that we all might have life and that more abundantly (John 10:10). He gave us a message of hope of something greater than what we are experiencing in this life, something with eternal implications. By faith we are asked to trust and believe in Him and His message of eternity. This is the reward for our patience – eternal life with God the Father in heaven one day. Although there are many wonderful marshmallows in this life, exercising a little patience will go a long way when this life comes to an end.
Prayer:
Loving Father,
We rejoice in Your promise of eternity. We long to be with You, and rest in Your glory. Give us the patience and endurance in this life that we might further Your message of love, peace and mercy to those around us. Help us, Lord, to be examples to others of Your Son’s love and forgiveness as other’s observe our nature. We remain focused on the prize and turn away from the distractions in life. In Your name we pray – Amen
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Loving Father,
We rejoice in Your promise of eternity. We long to be with You, and rest in Your glory. Give us the patience and endurance in this life that we might further Your message of love, peace and mercy to those around us. Help us, Lord, to be examples to others of Your Son’s love and forgiveness as other’s observe our nature. We remain focused on the prize and turn away from the distractions in life. In Your name we pray – Amen
http://www.10minutereader.com
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