I recently saw a public service advertisement on television that featured a middle-aged man down on his hands and knees, putting the finishing touches on a freshly poured concrete sidewalk. Suddenly, the man noticed that a young boy, perhaps four or five years old, had approached him—by walking right through the middle of the wet concrete, leaving deep tracks in the man’s handiwork!

The little boy said, “Hi!”

The man could have lost his temper and berated the young fellow for messing up his concrete and causing him to have to do extra work. Instead, he took a deep breath and said, “Hi!” This took a lot of patience.

Patience is an important Christian virtue. It is one way that we show love to people—“Love is patient…” (1 Cor.13:4). Patience, or forbearance, is also an evidence of the Holy Spirit in your life (Gal.5:22). Therefore, it is important that we show patience with those who try our patience!

How do you react when somebody “walks through your concrete?”