“Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.”
Ephesians 4:2

Ah, the words are beautiful. It sounds so lovely – even easy.

Then real life kicks in. What is it that irks you? Is it that mother in the supermarket who just lets her child scream? Is it the person who is always arriving late? Is it the neighbor who gets out his noisy lawnmower just as you sit down to dinner? Is it the non-listener in your group who never seems to know what’s going on? Is it the child or grandchild who fails to thank you? Do I hear that silent grrrrr?

Let’s look back at the words – “bearing with one another in love.” And now these are hard words.

I don’t know about you, but I suspect my impatience is often rooted in an attitude that “I would never do that!” Somehow it’s easy to feel that our behavior would be better than that of others. Oops, let’s take another look at the beginning of that verse – “Be completely humble . . .” Ouch, now these words are speaking right to me. It’s hard to be critical and completely humble at the same time.

I learned something from this little verse. Those two little words – humble and patient. As the song goes, “you can’t have one without the other.” So out with the pride and self-importance. If we personally aim for honest humility in our outlook and actions, perhaps patience will come much more easily.

Wonder of wonders, despite our weakness and impatience, our heavenly Father still loves us. He loves me and He loves you, unconditionally.

Judy