Putting Up with People

When I was growing up, my two older brothers often had to “put up with me” hanging around them. As the youngest, I struggled to keep up, but as older brothers they were obliged to bear with me as I learned to follow in their footsteps. They tolerated my silly questions, my slow pace, and my lack of understanding. I was part of the family, and family members sometimes need to simply bear with one another.  

In these verses, Paul tells the church at Colossae to bear with one another and forgive each other. In a church family, there will always be people that do things out of immaturity, ignorance, or inability to keep up. And as it is in any family, it is our obligation to be patient and bear with them.  Every group of believers has a variety of ideas, opinions, and perspectives. It is all too easy to allow such multiplicity to create division or even frustration. We cannot permit our individual uniqueness to obscure the love we have in common; love that has been given to us through Jesus. 

Our bearing with one another highlights the gospel to both each other and to the watching world. We bear and forgive others because Christ has forgiven us. If we are unwilling to bear with others, why expect God to bear with us? If we are unwilling to forgive others, why expect God to forgive us? When we put on the love of Christ, we bear with one another and forgive one another. Instead of thinking about the struggle of having to put up with one another, we need to focus on the precious opportunity we have to magnify God’s love and highlight the gospel.  God bears with us in our fight against sin, so we also must bear with others in their struggle with sin. 

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Lord, help me not to harbor bitterness towards others but instead extend grace as I patiently bear with fellow believers. Enable me to put on love as it bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. (1 Corinthians 13:7) and may that bearing and enduring love bring unity. Amen.