Section 9
is forbearance. To repeat, forbearance includes much more than gentleness or humility. As an all-inclusive Christian virtue, forbearance is Christ Himself. In both the family life and in the church life, we need to live Christ by living a life of forbearance.
The more we consider the significance of forbearance, the more we can appreciate why Paul spoke of it in Philippians 4:5. Our failures and defeats in the Christian life come because we are short of forbearance. All the saints, young and old alike, have a tendency to neglect for bearance. If we would live Christ, we must be satisfied with less than our due. We should not make exacting demands on others.
The Lord Jesus lived a life of forbearance when He was on earth. In one sense, He was very strict, but in another sense He was very tolerant. For example, although He prayed a great deal, He did not make demands of His disciples con cerning prayer or condemn them because they did not pray enough.
THE NEARNESS OF THE LORD
Immediately after speaking about forbear ance, Paul goes on to say, "The Lord is near." I do not oppose the understanding that this refers