Patience: A cornerstone of the Christian life

Artwork on the side of an apartment building in
Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine, in February 2005.

I've understood for most of my life that earth is a testing ground of patience, sandwiched in the midst of our eternal existence. Wesley Hill, writing at First Things (one of my favorite stops online for intellectual stimulation), beautifully sums up this Christian belief in a recent post.

Hill mentions the Christian concept of "being on the way" — in other words, having a patient understanding that this life is not one's ultimate destination. Rather, the kingdom of God is what Christians seek. Hill's perspective is unique. As a celibate gay Christian, he knows the challenge of denying himself some things that many in our culture claim he has every right to enjoy because, paraphrasing the Lady Gaga perspective, "God made me this way. Now I’d be untrue to God’s gifting if I chose a path of self-denial instead of a path of self-expression."

Hill rejects the "I want it all  right now" mentality, with its attendant mindset that the "kingdom of God should be here fully now, without our having to endure its slow, mysterious, paradoxical unfolding until the return of Christ." This comment rings true to me. Granted, as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon), I believe God has already re-established His kingdom on earth. But I also believe that God "will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to" His kingdom. This belief requires quiet patience from those who want to see the Church reach its full potential in their own time and way.

Patience, the ability to wait and delay our desires, is a cornerstone of the Christian life. It's a process made easier when we know that, in God's plan, mortality is only a bite-size morsel of our eternal existence. Hill concludes his post with Karl Barth's poignant thoughts on the ephemeral nature of mortality and the sure hope of eternal glory that can one day be ours.

Homeless in this world, not yet at home in the next, we human beings are wanderers between two worlds. But precisely as wanderers we are also children of God in Christ. The mystery of our life is God’s mystery. Moved by him, we must sigh, be ashamed of ourselves, be shocked, and die. Moved by him, we may be joyful and courageous, hope and live. He is the origin. Therefore we persist in the movement, and we call, “Hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

See Hill's entire post at First Things.