words

The Phantom Tollbooth is a fantastic book about a boy traveling through a world torn with war between words and numbers. In the land of Dictionopolis, words are of utmost importance. A citizen of Dictionopolis would have a personal lexicon worthy of praise by any scholar of our world. 

I learned a new word today.

This word presents to me a great challenge.

This word is: Hupomone

There is not good translation of this word from the original Greek to English. At best, it is translated as endurance or perseverance. 

Though these translations give you a glimpse of what hupomone is; they do not even touch on its significance.

In the New Testament, hupomone is used to describe a characteristic. This characteristic is of a man who will not stray from his purpose and his loyalty to faith even though he is suffering the greatest of trials. 

Another way to translate hupomone is 'patience'. 

That makes me wonder, is the true meaning of endurance patience? When you are enduring hardship and struggle, is that not the same as being patient for peace and relief? 

Hupomone grows as we experience more trials. 

This sense of hupomone is used in Romans 5:3-4 when Paul is encouraging the church to persevere through their troubles because this type of perseverance can develop passionate patience.  

When we learn to have patience on a passionate level, we open our hearts to hear what God is revealing to us through our sufferings and we become eager to listen.

I want this kind of patience  Patience enough to see that my sufferings, when endured with a godly mindset, will mold me into warrior for Christ.

Words.

"A slavish concern for the composition of words is the sign of a bankrupt intellect. Be gone, odious wasp! You smell of decayed syllables."

-Norton Juster, The Phantom Tollbooth