Long Enough

“and thus, having waited patiently, he obtained the promise”  Hebrews 6:15

Waited patiently – My estimation of Abraham’s patience doesn’t seem to square with the view of the author of Hebrews.  When I think of Abraham, I think of the man who protected himself at the expense of his wife (twice), who agreed to human intervention in the production of the heir and who left his first son in the wilderness to die.  Yes, it’s true that Abraham also negotiated on behalf of others, obediently followed God without knowing the destination and finally (after years of training) was able to trust God’s plan rather than his own.  But I wouldn’t have called Abraham patient.  Stupid, maybe.  Untrusting for sure.  But patient?  No, I don’t think so.

The fact that the author of Hebrews does not share my estimation is actually personally reassuring.  When I look at Abraham’s life, it looks quite a bit like mine.  On more than one occasion I have opted for self-protection at the expense of someone else.  I have often tried to intervene in God’s plans (especially when I think that things aren’t moving fast enough).  I didn’t leave my oldest son in the wilderness to die, but what I did to family members would qualify as abandonment.  And, oh yes, I was very stupid.

Things become a little clearer when I look at the Greek.  The word is makrothumesas.  It comes from makros (long) and thumos (violent motion, anger, wrath).  The combined meaning is long suffering from which we derive endurance or patience.  When I think about the root words, my picture of Abraham changes and the reflection I see in Abraham’s mirror changes too.  I wouldn’t hesitate to say that Abraham suffered and endured for a long time.  If waiting patiently takes on the nuance of enduring hardships, frustration, disappointments, chastisement, discouragement and sorrow, then I am right there with Abraham.  If that’s what it takes to obtain the promise, then I guess I’m on track.  That’s a very different picture than my usual imagery about patience.  I don’t see Abraham down on his knees day after day contented and calm as he plumbs the spiritual depths of God.  I see a man who is just like me, struggling to understand, trying to make things work, making colossal mistakes, taking painful steps forward, and slowly, very slowly, learning to trust the God who called him.

Now that I think about it, maybe I am Abraham’s offspring.  I certainly have some family pattern resemblance.  How about you?  Do you belong to his tribe?  If you do, then waiting patiently is very hard.  But it’s not for nothing.  Abraham did receive the promise.  So will you and I if we just keep going.