We must imitate the forbearance of God.
Oh, how great is God’s forbearance! He endures patiently the temples of the profane men who outrage His Majesty; He endures idols and sacrilegious ceremonies; He makes the sun to shine on the evil and upon the good, and His rain descend upon the just and upon the unjust; He makes the elements serve all men alike, the impious as well as the good; the winds blow, the springs burst forth, the harvests swell with waving corn, the grapes ripen, the trees cover themselves with fruit, the forests put on thick foliage, the meadows adorn themselves with the enamel of flowers.
God delays vengeance, and patiently waits, that man may correct himself and return to his Saviour.
Such is the forbearance of the Eternal Father, and similar to it was that of the Son, for all the actions of Jesus Christ were characterized by patience and by that Divine evenness of soul of which nothing could disturb the tranquility.
—–St. Cyprian
Wisdom and prayers of saints 