ODJ: patience, man
December 11, 2010
The Lord replied, “Then I will not destroy [Sodom] for the sake of the ten” (v.32).
READ: Genesis 18:16-33
After church one Sunday, our family pulled up to the drive-up window of a local fast-food restaurant. We inched up to the microphone and waited. After a lengthy pause, a voice told us it would be just another minute. I felt a surge of irritation. When my husband finally placed our order, the voice vanished again. “Helloooo?” we called. The voice responded, “Patience, man.” And we waited some more.
Most of us don’t think of God’s longsuffering ways when we picture the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Images of fireballs, burning sulfur, and a fossilized woman (Genesis 19:24-26) remind us of God’s judgment and His righteous anger. Still, before those events, God’s patience was present.
Prior to Sodom’s demise, God visited Abraham, saying, “I am going down to see if [the city’s] actions are as wicked as I have heard. If not, I want to know” (18:21). The Lord took the time to personally scope out the situation before halting the city’s wickedness—even though, in His divinity, He must have known all the details. God was demonstrating His patience.
Before leaving for Sodom, God endured a string of annoying questions from Abraham that began like this: “Suppose you find fifty righteous people living there in the city—will you still sweep it away and not spare it for their sakes?” (v.24). When God promised He would, Abe asked the same kind of question five more times!
We need to mirror God’s character and “be patient with each other” (Ephesians 4:2). This might mean listening wholeheartedly to less-than-engaging dialogue, or carefully investigating when we’d rather jump to our own conclusions. In any case, it requires us to answer God’s call to have patience, man. —Jennifer Benson Schuldt
How have you benefitted from God’s patience? How can you exhibit Christlike patience in today’s society?
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