Words fail me other than to give praise to the Lord Jesus because he is the source of the grace. I also know that the Lord Jesus grows the grace within us in the hard times. Patience grows when God lovingly gives us the most unkind, unloving and disrespectful people into our lives. But God is amazing because he is truly the author of the grace that comes through us when we trust him with our battles. I have learned that it isn’t my battle and that helps me to stay the course and to give respect to others even though they are not responding back in kind.

Jesus is the true warrior who will deal with our enemies, but for those who are brothers in Christ who are striking out and responding with attacks out of their own fear or insecurity, Jesus will treat them gently until they come to the knowledge of the truth for “a bruised reed He will not break and a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish..” Isaiah 42:3. If Jesus is this compassionate and caring to those who have a tough exterior but who have wounded hearts within (and he is the only one who sees their hearts), then I can trust that he is able to bring a healing touch through me if I allow him to do that. It is his battle. If the person is an enemy and not a wounded brother, then Jesus will also bring justice in his time. He makes all things beautiful in his time and the battle and the results belong to Jesus.

I am encouraged by your words to continue telling the truth in love. It seems that I’ve got courage to spare when speaking what I know is truth in every fiber of my being, but the meekness and patience thing is so much harder for me. It’s easy to wield a sword, but to do so with excellence requires dedication and disclipline. You have been a tremendous encouragement to me in this area. It’s weird, because I’m a softie as a nurse and am touched deeply by the physical pain and difficulties of disease. Words are another matter to me. Thank you for setting a high standard as a role model for me in this area. Apologetics is certainly no place for the timid, and to be great at it requires great discipline and patience. I’m so glad that you demonstrate these to me and for me, along with the body of Christ.