September 12 Sermon Discussion Guide - "Patient Living"

 Sunday we concluded our exploration of the first few verses of Ephesians 4, where Paul urges the church in Ephesus to live in a manner worthy of the calling to which they had been called. They were being called to visibly, outwardly demonstrate the innate, intrinsic reality that was theirs in Jesus Christ: Unity. And for Paul it seems that our charitable conduct is the means by which we demonstrate that unity. How well we love one another paves the road toward unity. Over the past couple of weeks we considered the call to humility and gentleness. This week our focus shifted to patience, which Paul urges in verse 2:

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. 7 But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift.

At a very basic level, we might understand patience, broadly speaking, as developing the capacity to tolerate or developing the ability to live with unexpected, maybe even unwarranted delays and frustrations. As Christians, our understanding of patience also includes developing the ability to accept suffering or difficulty with grace rather than rage or uncontrolled anger. As a general rule, the busier we become, the more hurried our lives must be. And a hurried life makes the development of patience quite difficult. And we must be aware of these dangers. As Dallas Willard suggested, “We should take as our aim to live our lives entirely without hurry.”  In many ways, the health of our souls depends on it. The health of the community also depends on it. In that famous passage on love, 1 Corinthians 13, Paul describes the humble, gentle, patient love we are called into in this way:

4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

The church father, Tertullian, famously said, “Christians are made, not born.” If that’s true, we might want to remember that we are all in the process of becoming. And discipleship, becoming followers of Jesus takes years, even a lifetime. In one sense, Christians are people who submit to the long, slow process of formation into the image of our Lord. And a people who are in the process of becoming requires a community of patience.   

Questions for Reflection:
1.  In what ways do you struggle with a busy or hurried life? In what ways does that seem
     unavoidable? Are there ways to avoid that hurried lifestyle? 
2.  Why is patience in community difficult? Does the idea that we are all people who are
     becoming help reframe that difficulty?   
3.  Reflect on God’s patient nature. How might a reminder of God’s patience impact my life?