Peace & Patience
How two ‘Fruit of the Spirit’ can influence our thinking today
The Apostle Paul lists peace and patience as two of the nine ‘Fruit of the Spirit’ in Galatians 5:22–23:
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22–23, ESV)
Since Adam disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden, we are all born sinners and we live in an imperfect world. (Romans 5:12) This world is filled with some incredible, fulfilling things, like family, friends, music, creation, and more, but sin is still pervasive. The Bible doesn’t sugarcoat this fact, reminding us,
In this world you will have trouble. But take heart; I have overcome the world.(John 16:33, ESV)
God wishes for us to enjoy the good things in this life. John 10:10 says:
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. (John 10:10, ESV)
We must also endure the evil that is everywhere in this world, and that’s hard.
Patience is crucial. Patience is the ability to wait for things that we want. We know that one day, Jesus will come back to take all of those who follow him up to heaven. There will be no more pain or tears, but we don’t know when Jesus will come back. In fact, the Bible says, not even the angels or Jesus Himself know — only the Father. (Matthew 24:36) We must be patient and wait for Him — that’ll help get us through our Earthly struggles.
Since we know that Jesus is coming back, we can have peace while we are here on Earth. For us, peace means not worrying about things going on in this world, because we know it is only temporary. Having peace also means that we shouldn’t fight or argue with each other. Jesus was the ultimate example of peace.
Even while people lied about Him, and the Roman soldiers tortured and killed Him, Jesus showed peace. He didn’t argue with those people harming and crucifying Him; He asked the Father to forgive them for what they were doing. The book of Isaiah contains prophecy referring to Jesus modeling peace, even on the cross:
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. (Isaiah 53:7, ESV)
We’re going to struggle in this life, but we can be patient knowing Jesus is coming back and, in Him, we will live forever in perfect Heaven. Knowing sin will one day be defeated, we can live peacefully — even when the world around is quite the opposite.
