Bear With Each Other

Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

Colossians 3:13

Within the Christian community we are bound to have conflict, because none of us are perfect yet. We are all still rough around the edges. So, sooner or later your rough edges are going to rub someone the wrong way or their rough edges are going to rub you the wrong way, and someone will get irritated or hurt. In those moments, you are called to bear with or endure one another. That means that you can’t just leave your church or cut off a relationship when you are mad at someone. You’re called to bear with other believers and their failings.

In fact, you are called not only to endure them but also to forgive them. Do you know what forgiveness is? Forgiveness happens when you are right and someone else is wrong. They have wronged you and you have the right to be angry at them. You have the right to hold their behavior against them. But you choose not to. You choose to forgive them instead. You give up the right to hold what they did against them any longer. You lay down your anger and you forgive their debt.

That’s hard to do! But this passage calls you to an even higher standard than that. It says that you are called not only to forgive but to “forgive as the Lord forgave us.” You are called to forgive like that! He forgave you everything… even though you didn’t deserve it. And, if the person you are angry with is a Christian, then He forgave them as well. If He forgave you… and if He forgave them… then who are you to hold a grudge?

There is no place in the Christian community for grudges. There is no place for unforgiveness. We are called bear with one another and forgive one another as Christ has forgiven us.

Is there anyone that you are irritated with or angry at right now? Is there anyone you need to bear with? Maybe you haven’t looked at the situation from their perspective. Maybe you haven’t given them the benefit of the doubt. Or maybe you’re right and they are dead wrong. It doesn’t really matter. You are called to bear with them and forgive them either way. Remember, Jesus is the standard. You are called to bear with and forgive others even as He forgave you.

Right after the Lord’s prayer in the sermon on the mount, Jesus said this.

“For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” (Matthew 6:14–15)

That is the surprising importance of forgiveness. So, forgive one another as the Lord forgave you.