Tolerance vs Patience/Longsuffering

There is a big difference between tolerance and patience/longsuffering. Tolerance has to do with accepting the acts of another. Patience/longsuffering has to do with loving another and bearing with their acts and helping them grow and change from the acts that they are doing. Let me give some examples... I have a daughter. When she was a baby she threw-up on herself. She did it a lot. Sometimes more than once a day. If I would have tolerated this the idea of her throwing up on herself would have been ok... maybe not for me but for her that is ok. Now that she is 11 if I tolerated her throwing up on herself she could still be doing it... and I would just need to accept it as ok for her. But I did NOT tolerate my little baby girl throwing up on herself (and sometimes me)... I had patience/longsuffering with her, because I love her. I was NEVER ok with her throwing up on herself, but I loved her inspite of that. I cleaned her up and stuck with her and helped her grow and learn not to do that anymore. I am happy to report that she no longer throws up on her self, and is not ok with other people throwing up on her either. Now you may say that is just a silly example... ok... then how about this one:

The Lord loved me. He has NEVER tolerated my sin. It is ALL wicked and discusting to Him. But because the Lord loves me He did not wink at my sin. He did not just accept it. He did not say... "oh, that's ok everyone is doing it". He loved me and paid for it ALL. He paid for it with the precious blood of Christ. And as my Father who loves me He is patient/longsuffering with me. He is never ok with my disobedience, but rather corrects me and helps me grow and learn to be more and more obedient.


1Pe 1:18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;
1Pe 1:19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:


Rom 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Rom 5:9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.

May God help us to STOP being tolerant and become patient/longsuffering.

May God bless,

John Lane