By Greg Crum

“Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry.” Hebrews 10:35-37

How do you like your food cooked? Is half-baked your preference? How about a half-baked cake, or partially done piece of chicken? Does that sound yummy to you? No, of course not! Not only does that not sound appetizing, eating many foods without properly cooking them can be very hazardous to your health. Well, oddly enough, the same can be said concerning many of the blessings of God in our lives. There are a great many things that the Lord has in store for us that must mature in order for us to receive the blessing out of it that God intends for it to be. It a society that wants everything “right now” this can stifle modern Christians and lead to frustration and failure in their walk with God. What’s the solution? Patience, the sweetener of the Spirit!

The last several weeks we have written of our “higher calling” in Christ Jesus — the calling believers have to be “Christ-like” progressively as we conform to the image of God’s Son. We’ve said that when we are “born again,” the Holy Spirit comes to abide in our spirits and He brings with Him the character of God. This character, or perhaps better said, these characteristics, enable us to think, speak, and act more and more as Jesus would as we grow in Him. We also noted that this process isn’t automatic. It takes a purposeful effort on our part to allow God to grow His fruit in us. Our call, or challenge, is to develop these characteristics in our lives and demonstrate them consistently. How? By feeding these attributes our thoughts and exercising them in our daily lives.