The Hardest Fruit of the Spirit

The first three items in Paul’s fruit basket sound very spiritual. Heavenly almost. Very nice for Sundays, at least. But his next one, patience, brings us back down to earth on a Monday. What are we like to live with the rest of the week? 

How do we cope with all that presses in on us in the hustle and hassle of life? The word Paul uses literally means “long-tempered.” In our older English translations patience was translated “long-suffering”—one of those old-fashioned words that really deserves to be kept…