God is infinitely surprising. We will never come to the point that we stop being surprised by him. In fact, the more we know God, the more we are amazed by him. All he is and all he does is inevitably surprising in countless ways. If I was to pick one of those many ways in which God is surprising, I would say that I am especially surprised by God in his longsuffering for mankind.
He is longsuffering with the lost, “not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Pet 3:9). If it was up to us, we would have long ago put an end to all the madness in the world, but God still waits patiently. Men, blinded by a sinful perspective, reject the very notion of punishment, and ascribe to God a verdict of being cruel and unfair, when in fact, despite iniquity screaming to high heaven, he patiently delays retribution for their sins.
He is also long suffering with the redeemed. After repenting from countless sins, it is so easy to hype yourself up that from then on you shall live only in pleasing ways to him, making up for all your previous transgressions. And only moments go by, and you already slip a little. No biggie, you think. You get yourself together, regain your composure, and with a renewed desire to do what is pleasing to God, you try again, only to derail soon after. And then again. And again. Inevitably, at some point, you begin to worry whether you have failed so much that God is finally fed up with you. He gave you a second chance, and you messed it up.
Oh, how often have I made these small pledges to honor God with all my being, only to fear at times that perhaps I brought shame instead. Of course, I am aware that God has made me his own not based on any success on my part, and that my remaining in this status is certainly not based on my ability to stop failing. I find comfort in that it is all grace.
And yet, it is hard not to notice God’s extraordinary patience with the continuous failures in my life. I often ask myself, how long is God going to put up with me? It can easily discourage me. But then, God reminds me that he is a longsuffering God, and despite my continued failures, he is surprisingly loving and patient with me.
Instead of having enough, though it may be for the ten thousandth time, God forgives and restores every time I come to him with a repentant spirit. Far from this leading to more sin, I find it incredibly comforting to know that I could never sin my way out of heaven.
He, the perfect Father, patiently waits for all his children to become more like his Son each day. He strengthens us, assures us that he loves us no less, and teaches us that progress comes through our failures as well.
Why is this so surprising? Because such longsuffering is unknown to us. We are not capable of exhibiting love in this way. Even with our best intentions, towards our most loved person, and in the best circumstances, our suffering is not so long at all. A line is crossed, and then it is no more.
But when I think of how patiently he puts up with our transgressions, I must say that I am becoming increasingly surprised by God for the longsuffering nature of his love for us.