2nd Fruit — Clarifications …
First of all, while divine Patience is clearly active, it is not to be confused with choices that are “impulsive” or “rushed.” It is not the traditional “patience” that encourages us to wait for a “better time” to act or prepare for a “more important alternative” in the future. True Patience, rather, encourages us to do in each moment what is already on hand to do (“Be Ready for every Good Work” ~ Titus 3:1) …
Of course, “doing what there is to do” does not mean reacting to what happens to us — reacting is not choosing. Patient actions are not only thought and felt – they are consciously decided, in that they are thought-through before they are actualized and are focused upon during their actualization (“Everyone then who hears these words and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his House on stone.” ~ Jesus (Matthew 7:24) … The ego reacts with self-centered sinning while the Soul always pauses long enough to choose to Do Good despite those lusts and fears (“Consider yourselves dead to sin and Alive to God.” ~ Romans 6:10-11) …
Finally, the activeness of divine Patience has nothing to do with being merely “productive” or “industrious” or “busy”; with these labels implying that our efforts must be judged “acceptable” by others to be valid (“It is the same with the rich; in the midst of a busy life, they will wither away.” ~ James 1:11) … In actuality, quite the opposite is true, as our actions are Right (i.e. in Harmony with God’s Will) or “wrong” (i.e. discordant with that Will) irrespective of their externally judged effects (“You are servants of whomever you serve; either of sin, which leads to death, or of Giving, which leads to Righteousness.” ~ Romans 6:16 & “Whatever does not proceed from Faith is sin.” ~ Romans 14:23) … In fact, it is integral to our lives that we act lovingly — especially when judged incorrectly by others (“When reviled, we Bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we speak kindly.” ~ 1 Corinthians 4:12-13) …
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