James 5: 7 – 12 Be patient, therefore, beloved, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious crop from the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near. Beloved, do not grumble against one another, so that you may not be judged. See, the Judge is standing at the doors! As an example of suffering and patience, beloved, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Indeed we call blessed those who showed endurance. You have heard of the endurance of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful. Above all, my beloved, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your ‘Yes’ be yes and your ‘No’ be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.
Reflection Be patient! I took my wife to a minor injuries unit at the local hospital today, we waited patiently for 90 minutes. When we arrived, I looked around the waiting room and was pleased that there were less people than had been at church when I led this morning. As time passed, I did a few recounts and tried to calculate how much longer we had to wait. She was called by name and then she was seen by two very caring and helpful nurses. The nurses were good and gave my wife lots of reassurance as they dressed the wound.
Farmers wait for the rains. With the climate chaos humans have caused sometimes the rains do not come, or they come at the wrong time. The farmer’s patience must be exhausted.
Are we exhausted by waiting for the return of Jesus? We need to wait and not try to work out how long it will be before Jesus returns, we have no idea how long it will be. While I waited for my wife to be seen I had total trust that the nurses who saw her would take care of her. We need to have this attitude towards the return of Jesus, we do not know when He will return, we do not know how He will return but we do know that Jesus loves us. He showed His amazing love for humankind by coming to earth, living amongst us and dying on the cross for us.
We need to be patient and trusting in Jesus as we wait for His return. We should not try to calculate the date as Jesus said in Matthew 24:36 “No one knows, however, when that day and hour will come – neither the angels in heaven nor the Son; the Father alone knows.”
Prayer Almighty God teach me to be patient. Help me to have total trust in You. I look forward to the return of you only Son Jesus but I don’t know when or how He will return. Help me, and all the human race to care for your world as we wait for the return of your Son. Amen
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