Don't Pray For Patience

The phrase has been passed around for quite some time now, "don't pray for patience because then God will give you an opportunity to be patient in." This saying is not worth holding on to as truth, and should be addressed when we hear it. It paints two untruthful pictures. One tells the believer to not desire to look more like Christ for it will require work and trials. The other is of our Father having a sick sense of humor, giving us more trials when we're asking for his help. The Bible, which should be our basis of the Christian faith, disagrees.

One goal of the Christian is to be shaped to be like his/her Lord, Jesus. We were originally made in God's image (Genesis 1:27) but we fell from this image when Adam and Eve sinned (Genesis 3). For the one who is saved, we are to be more like Christ, both currently (1 John 2:6), and as a hope in a promise we've been given (1 John 3:1-3). Why fear this then, no matter how it comes? The Christian should strive to be like Christ in all things to glorify his/her Father. Trials may not be fun, but trust that they are for good.

The real problem in this saying, though, is the picture it paints of God. Saying that while one is in a trial requiring patience, praying for it will result in more trials is to say that He wants one to develop these skills alone, and will punish anyone who asks for help. This is ridiculous to claim and directly contradicts Luke 11:11-13

What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!

This (ignored) passage comes directly after the (often misused)  verses of Jesus explaining that if we ask our Father for something, we will receive it. He asks those listening if they give their child some calamity in response to a request for food. What kind of person would do that? Even humans, who are evil, will not deliver some trial instead of nourishment. So we should expect this even more from our Father, when we ask for the Holy Spirit. Don't be confused here, because patience is one of the outward signs (fruit; Galatians 5:22-23) of the Spirit promised to those who are to be saved. Therefore, it should be asked, what kind of god would our God be if when we asked for patience in the time of a trial, he instead gave us some serpent or scorpion?

Know, however, that trials are used for our good and are used to sanctify us. James says that we should "count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." (1:2-4) For through trials we are made perfect, with the Holy Spirit giving us the strength. This does not mean that our Father sends us trials in the midst of trials because we've asked for help through the original trials.

The Holy Spirit that a Christian has been sealed with is our comforter and source of patience. We may be taught patience through trials, but He is there to guide us through them. Our Father will not give us scorpions or serpents instead of food, and he will not give us calamity when we ask for His Spirit.

How A Body Is Built

What does it look like for a body to be completely mouths? What about only arms or feet? Or, if the legs not only walked, but tried to talk, digest, and think? Taking a look at many churches or para-church organizations answers these questions. These communities have lost sight of what a body looks like and why they are made of different parts and have lost their effectiveness, in at least some sense.

The Thumb-Thumbs from Spy Kids were pretty ineffective...

One cannot say another is acting foolishly, without explaining the proper way to act. So before expanding upon what behavior could be considered an ill-formed body, a proper body should be considered. A brief introduction to the gifts of the Spirit (in which this idea is based) is found in 1 Corinthians 12:4-7.

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.

Note that the same sentiment is repeated three times in a row. There are different gifts, types of service, and activities, but the same Spirit, Lord, and God respectively. Displaying the gift of teaching does not mean that someone has a different Holy Spirit than one who is an administrator. And because one person serves in the kitchen while another serves as an usher does not mean they serve a different Lord. Finally, the senior pastor and the VBS volunteer serve the same God, who empowers them to complete each of their tasks. Verse seven tells us that all of this, everything we do to serve God in his power, is for the common good. When we use our gifts, whether it's healing or preaching or encouraging, each is for the common good.

Further in the passage(vv. 8-10), language like "to one is given," and "to another" is used to stress that each gift is not given to each person. The same Spirit gives each gift to whom he chooses as he chooses (v. 11). These verses explain that the Holy Spirit has a will in this, deciding who gets which gift, and that he does not empower everyone the same.

Moving forward in chapter 12, is the body analogy. Please read vv. 14-20 for an extension of how foolish these bodies Christians try to form are. The illustration is used to teach that each part of the body is important, and each role needs the other. This is why God, our Father, has built his Church with diversity in the gifts the Holy Spirit has manifested in us. Personally, I am a bad encouragement, but I have a passion and wisdom about the Bible that is not my own. My best friend, ChrisKolb, is a huge encouragement and just as passionate about God, but if he ran a church, paperwork might not get done. Another best friend, Nik, would make the paperwork and leadership duties beg for mercy, but has not been given wisdom in the word like I have. We all need each other, as we'd fail miserably if we tried to do everything. This dependence is good and willed by the Father.

But there are countless people who may have ripped this chapter out of their Bibles. Some churches claim that a specific gift needs to be shown in your someone's life as evidence they are saved. Other organizations require everyone to show every gift of the Spirit that they acknowledge, making all who are involved teach and encourage and administrate and evangelize and so on. While each of these gifts alone are good, there is not a specific gift that proves salvation (that's what the Fruits of the Spirit are for), nor are all the gifts given to everyone. Each believer is instructed to be empowered by the Spirit in the way he has manifested himself in them.

This is a part of the Bible the Church has ripped out or scratched out, so we can hold on to our own power. When will we stop ignoring God's will for his Church?

Why I Am Ok Without God

All of us at one point have thought we are alright without God, with no need for him, his grace, or his presence. Understanding why that's a lie is one matter, but why would someone even think that? As I said in my last post, we often rely on other humans to feel loved when on their own they are incapable of such a thing. This is not limited to other humans, but we put our faith and trust in so much to survive everyday life or even eternal life. How could we be so foolish?

One examination of the problem is in Jeremiah 2. The chapter comments on Israel's condition, having turned from the LORD and seeking their own glory. God illustrates it beautifully in verse 13:

for my people have committed two evils:
    they have forsaken me,
        the fountain of living waters,
    and hewed out cisterns for themselves,
        broken cisterns that can hold no water.

Just like someone would not turn to a cracked water bottle for relief from thirst or a glass with a hole at the bottom, this verse illustrates the foolishness of people turning from God and turning to false gods, like we do all the time. Obviously, there are so many other places we see this, but I prefer the imagery here.

A key to this question is what the flesh desires. Galatians 5 lays it out explicitly. "Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these." (vv 19-21a) If our physical being, our evil selves seek such things, and find them, they will feel satisfied. It is their foolish replacement for the joy and grace of God. So telling someone that they will not be satisfied without God may seem as a lie to them, because their flesh is satisfied with evil things. But their soul will not survive on these.

If God is working in someone's heart, they will come to know their longing and need of him. Nothing we say or do can change their mind, unless it is God's work as well (1 Corinthians 3:5-9). So we think we're ok without God unless he's working in us to convince us of his truth. We are satisfied with sins and evil, even when we let the flesh control us, and God is the one who reveals our brokenness.