Patience, god’s
Expression of his love
May 9th 2011
Patience is the greatest expression of love. In Bulgarian, patience is tarpénié, and the word delgotarpénié refers to divine patience. God is called delgotarpelniv, which can be translated by the English word ‘long-suffering’ (deleg means ‘long’). ‘Long-suffering’ is not a word you will hear very often, but it is the most appropriate one to use in reference to God’s infinite patience.
So let’s look for a moment at this wonderful patience. For millions and millions of years, God has been waiting for stones to become humans, and nothing can disturb his peace. He can bear anything. He doesn’t stir even when he sees how many evil creatures are committing crimes and wrecking the world he created. Such patience is, without doubt, the most disturbing and incomprehensible thing there is. The only way to understand it is to try to come closer to it in any way possible, for no definition, however erudite, can help us understand it. God’s long-suffering is the expression of his love.