Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
Colossians 3:13 KJV
There is the standard, and then there are schemes and machinations of men. There are the principles of God's Word, and then there are the excuses we give ourselves to justify whatever position we seek to take. Since the fall of man in the Garden of Eden, man has always sought to take the path of least resistance to God's Word, because God's Word is not built to make me comfortable, but conformed to the image of the Son of God. The process of conforming will take time, effort and self-denial, but the eternal reward that is attached to the process make it all worth it.
Therefore, the first and most important part of this discussion is to address the foundation. Who is in charge of my heart? Who defines its pursuits and priorities? Who is the inspiration behind its perspiration? It is this foundation that will define all that follow; God's instructions are for those who have willingly submitted their hearts to God. In the event that you are not sure, read the verse that comes before today's extract. It mentions the 'elect of God'. Those are the people today's extract is addressed to. These words are not for those who are yet to decide on who they will submit to. Submission demands for self - denial, and a man who still wants to control his life is yet to sort out what is really important.
What is demanded: a look at the last part of the verse defines what the context is. The way Jesus helped me is the way I have to live with others. If I consider what Jesus did for me, and all I have been forgiven, can anything be too much for me to let go? Is there an offence so great that I cannot forbear and forgive? Forbearance is to politely or patiently restrain an impulse to do something. I could be within my rights to react, but when I consider where I have been, what I have gotten away with from God, and where I am headed, I am able to let go. It won't always be easy, but the grace to do so was never supposed to come from my muscles but from the grace of God.
Forgiveness is like a drug, which relieves you first of all. Refusing to forgive others is like taking poison, hoping the other person will die. I am not asked to bother about the other person's reaction, but to sort out my own. God may have called all of us to himself, but he deals with us on an individual basis. It is an individual response; when I get it right, and you also get it right, we are on the path to establishing God's version of authority.
Did you note that the passage did not ask who started the quarrel, or how it happened? It only asks that those who know what they have received be quick to offer forgiveness to anyone who needs it. It is pride for the older to wait for the younger to apologise. It is unwise for one person to claim s/he is right and delay forgiveness. If God cannot convict my heart to seek to forgive other people, then it could mean that my heart is not under his control. God forbid that such a person dies without making amends.
Now that I know the standard, I have no excuse. Now that I know what God demands of me, I cannot turn around and blame God for the consequences of the exercise of my freewill. I have read it now, and the demand of God is for me to forbear and forgive, just as he did for me. His example is the reason why I am here now, and his life in me calls me to follow a different pattern of life. I cannot blend in with the world; I cannot make compromises with the world. God will not lower the standard for anyone. His time of favour is here.
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