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Longsuffering

Devotional material is taken from Today With The King, written by Robert A. Cook. Copyright © 2017. All rights reserved. Used with written permission.

Galatians 5:22: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

The word long-suffering literally means *long-spirited* or *largehearted.* The emphasis is on patience and willingness to endure. Underlying this patient willingness to put up with people is the concept of large-heartedness: room in your heart for people... as they are, not as you wish they were, or as they ought to be! In other words, this fruit of the Spirit involves a great deal more than just *coping* with people. It involves love and acceptance of another human being.

Dr. Dick Hillis told the story of an interpreter whom he had hired to help him get the Gospel message to some mountain tribes in Formosa. There was some genuine doubt in Hillis* mind as to whether this interpreter really was committed to Christ; however, he was quite conversant with the Gospel message, so they began the journey. One day, this interpreter came to Dr. Hillis and said, *I am now a Christian. Your God is my God and your Savior is my Savior.* *When did this happen?* asked the missionary. *Do you remember that cold night when we had nowhere to stay and had to sleep in a farmer*s barn?* *Oh, I remember it well!* Hillis replied. *And do you remember that we only had one blanket, yours, and that you shared it with me?* *Yes, I remember.* *And do you remember that in the morning, I had the blanket, and you were just about frozen?* Laughing, Hillis said, *Yes, I remember!* *That was when I decided to become a Christian. I had your blanket; you were very cold; and you weren*t even angry!*

Small thought here. The most effective sermons are often preached by *long-suffering* large-hearted conduct.

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