The fifth thing we are to put on is longsuffering. This has been de scribed as the marathon feature of a gracious spirit. As I consider my own life, I see how good I am at short-suffering. When I am called upon to endure something for a long period of time, however, prob lems have a tendency to arise. Pa tience soon gives out and then I quickly give up. It is extremely dif ficult to be tested and tried. The Lord says, "I want you to be long- suffering." It was Cervantes who penned, "The road is always better than the inn." He pictures a lone traveler going down the highway. At the distant horizon is the inn or rest ing place. The pilgrim hurries as fast as he can toward the goal. He sees nothing but the resting place. As a result he misses all of the things about him along the way. We all set goals in our lives. We are in such a hurry to get to them that we miss many things along the way which could be both a blessing and an inspiration. The Word of God says, "Ye have need of pa tience after that ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise." In verse 13 we have the exhor tation, "Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any; even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye." Here are the twins "for" 's. To forbear represents tolerance of others. To forgive wipes the slate clean. When we are tempted to break loose and fly off the handle, we need to forbear—we need to put up with these things. To for give means to forget freely, entire ly and eternally.
In radio work we use a degauzer. This is an electronic device com prised of a series of magnets. After we have finished with a tape broad cast being returned from a station, we place it on the degauzer and turn the tape around several times. Immediately every single word is erased. If man can devise a little machine like this, think what God, in His almighty sovereign mercy and grace, does in forgiving us. He wipes the slate clean and He does it freely. Nothing remains whatso ever. Is this the way we face and consider the mistakes of others? The Apostle is saying, "Do not har bor any resentment whatsoever." Verse 14 reminds us, "Above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness." Scrip ture tells us that the supreme vir tue is love (I Corinthians 13:13). Love is the supreme evidence of a Christian life. In John 13:55 we read our Saviour's words, "By this shall all men know ye are my dis ciples, that ye love one another." Is it not tragic that so often the church through the centuries, es pecially in recent years, has been known for just the opposite? Love is the outer garment the Christian is to wear. It covers over all of the others. Without being adorned in love, we are not completely dressed in God's graces. After the Christian has put on all of these seven things, having first of all taken off the six things and mortified the five characteris tics, then he is all dressed up. He does have some place to go. He has a job to perform. He has a ministry to carry out. Notice verse 15 of Colossians 3, "And let the peace of God rule in your hearts." If there is anything
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