On Facebook today, I saw a post by a friend who's name will go unmentioned. It was essentially a reminder to Christians not to ask for patience or humility, because God will put you through great trials to produce it. I've heard variations of this over the years. The most common one I've heard goes like this: "Never pray for patience, because God will bring you trials!" It's cute and everything, but as a Christian, it actually has begun to make me angry whenever I hear it. It's implications are disastrous.
When a person says that, they are, in effect, saying: "Do not pray that God would make you more like Jesus, because in order to do that, He'll have to refine you through pain and difficulty. You don't want that. It's better to lie in the sloth of your flesh, and go to heaven a spiritual infant." Of course, no Christian would ever say that. But this is what people mean when they say it, whether they mean to mean it or not.
The gifts of the Spirit (healing, prophecy, tongues, etc.) are gifts. They are given, and they are available to anyone who has the faith to exercise them. However, the fruit of the Spirit are, well, fruit. They are grown over time through processes that God ordains in our lives. Both are important, but the fruit of Spirit are attributes of Christ's character. When we say that someone is like Jesus, this is most of what we mean. Jesus worked miracles in addition to being patient and such, but anyone with an ounce of faith can do this. The disciples were doing miracles long before they displayed much of the fruit of the Spirit. ....But maturity is in the development of the fruit.
Also, the real pleasure of being a Christian is in becoming more like Christ. (For heaven's sake, that's what it means to be called a Christian!) When you realize that the things that used to throw you into a tantrum no longer do...when you care about souls...when you find yourself hating what Jesus hates and loving what He loves....when you actually learn to love someone who may never love you back...when you really learn how to forgive....that is satisfying. Then you are free.
That, beloved, is why we should pray for patience, and all the other fruit of the Spirit. When we pray for those things, we are praying to be more like Jesus, and when that happens, we can know Him and enjoy Him more fully. Screw selfishness. Ask for patience.
