There is no compassion without patience and no patience without compassion
Compassion and patience can be hard to grow in, but it is possible!
A man named Ryan sent me a kind letter recently where we spoke about compassion and patience that helps anyone who suffers from trying to grow either one. Here is an excerpt from his letter that I responded to.
Enjoy!
“…I was an extremely fearful person. Only 2 years ago, I started to have a more meaningful relationship with God. He gifted me with fearlessness, biblical discernment and patience, but I of course did not receive all the gifts I would have loved, because I also find myself on a path of learning and struggling with compassion for others, and sinful mannerism. However, with biblical discernment I started my own journey with God…”
My response considers the connection between compassion and patience, and how to grow both:
“You said something in your letter I would like to humbly comment on- ‘He gifted me with fearlessness, biblical discernment and patience, but I of course did not receive all the gifts I would have loved, because I also find myself on a path of learning and struggling with compassion for others,and sinful mannerism.’
My heart says how happy I am for you that you have been given these gifts and you understand you have them. I think you may not understand yet that the gifts of fearlessness, Biblical discernment, and patience are some of the tools given to developing compassion for others, and overcoming sinful mannerisms. As you probably see through what I write, one of my gifts is in helping people learn the things that help to develop compassion and overcome mannerisms that keep one captive. A light suggestion for you to help you on your path is to go to 1 Corinthians 13, the whole chapter.
Once you are there, study the whole chapter for discernment. When you get to the section that starts with 'love is patient, love is kind, love does not boast...' where it says love, put in the word God. Say out loud, God is patient (toward me), God is kind (toward me), God does not boast (ask yourself why He does not have to boast), then keep going down the list the same way.
Love is the answer
After realizing that God, who is love (1 John 4:8), loves you in this way, then go back through the list and say I will choose to be patient to myself the way God is patient with me. I will choose to be kind to myself the way God is kind to me, I will choose that there is no reason for me to boast because God does not even do this. And keep going down the list.
Let me tell you why it is so important to say you will be patient with yourself as God is.
When we are not patient with ourselves as God is, three things happen:
We make our beliefs about ourselves more important than what God believes about us. He believes it is good to be patient with you. If you believe differently than God then how can you be one with Him as Christ prayed we would become (John 17:21)?
We reject God's Son's Sacrifice when we choose to not treat ourselves the way God treats us. To accept Christ's blood takes applying Christ's blood by forgiving yourself of what God forgave you for through His Son's blood. Otherwise, God keeps trying to give you The Gift of forgiveness and you are not fully receiving it by emotionally saying, "I must still punish myself even if God forgives me". You are pushing away the gift!
You cannot give what you don't have: If you have not taken and felt the relief of God's forgiveness on yourself, then how can you give forgiveness, or patience, to anyone else? If you are impatient with yourself then most likely you are impatient with others. And if your patience is low, your compassion will definitely be low for anyone.
I hope my words are helpful to you in this matter my Brother in The Faith.”
May these words help each fellow human who reads this find the freedom I have experienced by being inspired to do this same practice using 1 Corinthians 13!
1 Corinthians 13:4–8a (ESV)
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.
We Are Owned By Love,
Katrina
P.S. Consider sharing this article with others who you see struggling with feeling and being Owned by Love. Oh, what sweet love it is to help others get those breakthroughs in finally feeling loved!
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