When I was growing up at Trinity Community Church in Sunward Park, Derek Wilson was our minister, and I remember collecting his sermon notes. I’d read them over again during the week, and it’s no wonder that I ended up where I have!
There are a few phrases and ideas from Derek’s teaching that have become fused into my thinking. One phrase I remember him saying in a sermon once has always stuck with me, and it’s this: Endurance is the crown jewel of character traits.
Endurance: The Crown Jewel of Character Traits
Jesus is really the epitome of humanity. If you want to see perfect humanity, the very best human, look at Jesus. And when you look at Jesus, one thing you do see is a remarkable amount of endurance.
The Oxford Dictionary defines endurance as “the ability to go through an unpleasant or difficult process or situation without giving way.” I’m sure that all of you know what it’s like to go through an unpleasant or difficult process or situation. In fact, many of you are going through something like that right now. COVID, of course, has inflicted the whole world with all sorts of unpleasant and difficult things.
But it goes deeper than that. Many of us have relationship struggles, financial problems, health issues, family ups and downs, grief, loneliness, frustration. Work is tough. Home life is challenging. So many of us wonder why we’re even here. Life is unpleasant a lot of the time, and here we are, having to learn to endure and to develop this crown jewel of character traits.
Fixing Our Eyes on Jesus
Now I love what the writer to the Hebrews says at the beginning of chapter 12: “Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.” (Hebrews 12:1–2)
So as we talk about endurance this week, let’s fix our eyes on Jesus and look at the endurance that He had. Because, friends, with the Holy Spirit in us, we can have the same endurance. I pray that you’ll go deep today, and that the crown jewel of character traits will be yours, whatever you’re facing.
Paul closes 1 Timothy by calling the man or woman of God to flee evil and pursue godliness. Name one thing to flee and one thing to pursue today, then ask God for the strength to do both.