POOR Dick can’t wait in the morning for his little playmate to wake up, so he has to jump up on her bed, and scrape with his paws, and pull the cover off her, until he gets her fully awake, and then he expects a romp.
But why, you say, did he not wait; it would only have been a little while; and the little girl would have been awake, and he would have had his play just the same, and she would have had her full rest? Yes, why? just because he was impatient. And are you never impatient? can’t wait till the time comes for some particular thing and even act ugly about it? Ah, how often we see that and the papa or the mamma has to say, Have patience; wait till I can give it to you, or wait till the time comes for it, and so on. Ah, patience is a great virtue. God is spoken of in Rom. 15:55Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus: (Romans 15:5) as, “‘The God of patience.” There is one way He shows it above all others, and that is, in waiting on poor sinners to accept His offer of salvation through Jesus’ Christ. So the Scripture says, “THE LORD IS NOT SLACK CONCERNING HIS PROMISE, AS SOME MEN COUNT SLACKNESS; BUT IS LONGSUFFERING TO USWARD, NOT WILLING THAT ANY SHOULD PERISH, BUT THAT ALL SHOULD COME TO REPENTANCE.” 2 Peter 3:99The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9).
Some people think because the Lord does not come right away and punish the evil-doer, that He has not meant what He said; but it is His patience or longsuffering, not willing that any should perish. What patience He has shown in waiting all these years on man, and is still waiting! Ah, may you not keep Him waiting on you, for the time is near when He will wait no longer, and all who have not come to Him through the Lord Jesus Christ, will have to take His judgment.
But perhaps someone may say, How can we learn to be patient? There are, perhaps, two ways we may learn it. One is by believing and meditating on the long suffering of God to us, and it enables us to be patient with others.
Another way is through troubles and trials. The Scripture says, “Tribulation worketh patience.” Trials, to the believer in the Lord Jesus, cause him to be cast on the Lord and he receives them from His hand and becomes patient through them. So this great virtue is to be learned in God’s presence through trials of different kinds. May all from their early day, seek to be patient, and learn from the impatience of little Dick what a selfish thing that is.
Messages of God’s Love 11/22/1908