His Longsuffering, Their Long Suffering

“Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.” (1Ti 1:16 AV)

The simplest understanding of this verse is that Jesus showed longsuffering towards Paul, the first and chiefest of sinners, that he might be an example to others who might doubt their ability to gain that same grace for themselves.  In other words, if Paul can get saved, then anyone can.  This grace, however, is not limited to saving grace alone.  This longsuffering continues through Paul’s life and ministry.  This pattern started with salvation but continued through all the trouble which came to Paul because he decided to trust Christ.  The Jewish leaders despised Paul.  His decision threw doubt on the validity of Jewish tradition and Old Testament sacrificial law.  His conversion brought indescribably persecution.  If the longsuffering of Christ continued on Paul even after salvation, this would be an encouragement to others to trust the LORD for salvation even when they knew they would have to pay a heavy price for doing so.

Years ago, in one of my previous churches, we had a member who I noticed who had no qualms over who he talked to of Christ’s love.  He would work the inner city streets, go to prisons, and share the gospel no matter where he was or went.  He was a missionary with a national prison ministry outreach.  He and his wife were not the GQ type.  If they visited the typical Baptist church, most would not be impressed with them.  They struggled to keep their support simply because of misconceptions.  It was a joy to have them in our church because they were hard workers.  NO matter what needed to be done, they were willing to commit their time.  As we initiated our door-to-door ministry, HE and his wife were enthusiastic participants.  There were several liquor stores in the neighborhood and it was not uncommon to see him talking to the drunks as they came out of the store.  This was a rough neighborhood, by the way.  Just being there was a risk to one's health let alone sharing the gospel with them.  One might ask why?  Why did he work so hard at reaching the least of our community?  Why did he dedicate his life to sharing the gospel to those who society had rejected?  We found out later his life was featured on the radio program, Unshackled.  That was a radio program put together by Pacific Garden Mission in Chicago, IL.  He had been a drunk, living on the streets, when he wandered into the mission. He sobered up and trusted Christ.  This is why he was so faithful.

Who and when we share the love of Christ is a good indicator of what we think of ourselves. The less we think of ourselves and are grateful for the longsuffering of Christ, the more apt we are to share His love with any and all we meet.  Paul may have seen himself as the chiefest of sinners, but that record belongs to all of us.  The standard is the perfect holiness of God. Therefore, we are are all equally wicked.  That Jesus would have patience with us and share His salvation by the means of another, is a wonder too hard to comprehend.  If we have the spirit of Paul, then we will not pick and choose who we talk to.  Our testimony is the power behind our message. If we ever stop sharing the love of Christ, we have come to a place where we think we are better than someone who needs to hear.  Paul showed us the way.  Being grateful for the longsuffering of Christ and revealing to others what that looks like, is a major step in them coming to Christ as you did.