But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, And a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, But that all should reach repentance. 2 Peter 3:8–9

It’s 4:30 in the morning and I can’t sleep. I was recently awakened by my son who had a bad dream, apparently about “that chicken” (whatever that means?!). So I stumbled into his room in total darkness to check on him. Since I am optically challenged in broad daylight, I often find wandering throughout the house at night without my glasses a real adventure. I made it into his room and was able to deduce from the screams of “that chicken” that he was curled up on the floor in the corner of his room. As I reached down to pick him up, he stood up to grab me. The combination of my blindness coupled with his distress resulted in a sucker punch from the back of his head delivered directly to my bottom lip. It was bad. I could actually feel my top teeth sinking into my bottom lip (my apologies if that is too graphic). So for the past hour I have been lying in bed, unable to sleep, with ice on my mouth. All the while, my son continues to cry “that chicken.”

Many thoughts are racing through my mind, but the one that keeps coming back is the patience of God. I am thinking about God’s patience because I can hardly imagine what it must be like for God to bear with the effects of our brokenness. I am about to lose it because of a silly nightmare about a chicken. How often has God listened to our screams and whining only to respond with his love? I am upset because I just took one in the mouth. How does God bear with his sinful people when we are the ones who put his Son on the cross? The patience of God completely perplexes and astounds me.

Most people in my position find the patience of God to be a difficult and frustrating topic. Pastors and parents alike seldom talk about the patience of God. One reason for our aversion to this topic is that we are obligated by Scripture to motivate one another to righteousness. When I know there are members of our youth group and congregation that are engaging in sinful behaviors, I don’t typically counsel them with dissertations regarding God’s patience. We love to claim God’s patience for ourselves because we desperately need it. We don’t enjoy extending God’s patience to others because we want the fear of judgment to whip them into shape. Nevertheless, the Bible is overflowing with examples and expositions demonstrating God’s patience. One of the more commonly repeated descriptions of God in the Bible is that God is “slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love” (Numbers 14:18 is just one example of many). If the Bible talks about God’s patience then so should we.

We must begin by affirming that God is patient. If God punished every sin as it deserved, then none of us would be alive. God promised that he would punish sin with death. Interestingly, neither Adam nor Eve died instantly after eating the forbidden fruit. Adam and Eve’s punishment was noticeably delayed. This is not to say that they did not die. The overarching testimony of Scripture is that God does punish sin with death. But the occasions when death comes as the instantaneous result of sin are few. Sodom and Gomorrah received their punishment in an instant. Lot’s wife received her punishment in an instant. Ananias and Sapphira received their punishment in an instant. Still, these examples stand out in the pages of Scripture as rare occurrences. The reason for this is that God is patient, or slow to anger.

Why is God patient? Wouldn’t it be far more effective and far less troublesome to punish everyone instantly? The more you look at Scripture the more it becomes clear that God is patient for a reason. Paul tells us that God’s patience is meant to lead us to repentance (Romans 2:4). The reason for God’s patience is his desire to open to us the opportunity for salvation. We all deserve death, and we deserve it now. Still, God is patient with us because he desires to grant forgiveness.

Practically speaking, the patience of God is a call to action. It is a call to get busy with the business of repentance. Just as God’s grace does not give us license to sin, God’s patience does not give us license to procrastinate. Every new day that God grants his patience is a new opportunity to glorify him and encourage others to turn to him. More than once in Scripture we are told not to boast about tomorrow for we do not know what a day may bring forth (Proverbs 27:1; James 4:13–17). The idea is that we should not presume upon God’s patience by putting off the things God has called us to do. James says that those who put off the good things they know they ought to do are actually sinning (James 4:17).

The patience of God also calls us to be patient. If God our Heavenly Father is patient, then those he makes his children should strive to be patient. Patience is one of the fruits the Spirit works into the lives of God’s children (Galatians 5:22). This means that our attitudes and actions towards our sins and the sins of others should mimic God’s. This does not mean that we should be indifferent towards sin. It means that our disposition towards sin and sinners should be colored with our Father’s desire for repentance. When the Holy Spirit convicts us of sin, we should be eager to repent because the patience of God is proof that he desires to grant forgiveness. When those around us are in sin, we should also be eager to see them taste of God’s forgiveness. Christians have gained a bad reputation for being judgmental. We do not have the reputation for being patient primarily because we are not eager to see sinners repent. Many “Christians” are indifferent towards sin. Just as many “Christians” are uncompromising in their judgment of sin. Very few demonstrate the patience that is necessary to bring sinners to repentance.

Paul equates love with patience (1 Corinthians 13:4). More specifically, to be patient is to love sinners—especially those who sin against you! Patience requires involvement, it requires time, it requires sharing in suffering and it requires trust in God to judge as he sees fit. We often lose our patience in the face of brokenness. We get angry when things don’t go as planned. But we must always remember that God is in the process of binding up the wounds of our brokenness. He does not overlook the countless ways sin has frustrated his good creation. Rather, he has dealt with sin by placing our penalty of death upon his Son Jesus Christ. He continues to deal with sin through the working of his Holy Spirit. There will come a day when there will be no more brokenness, no more nightmares, and no more busted lips. Until that day comes we would do well to contemplate the patience of God.

Campbell Silman is Youth Minister at Plains Presbyterian Church, Zachery, LA