For several years at Calvary, we have kept coming back to the "one another" commands in the New Testament. Many have observed that they "flesh out" the foundational directive to "love another" -- Jesus' "new command" in John 13.
In his excellent book, The Life You've Always Wanted," John Ortberg talks about the spiritual discipline of SERVANTHOOD, what he calls, "Appropriate Smallness." Included in that chapter is his disscussion of the command to "bear with one another."
"We are called to bear each other's burdens. Sometimes this may involve praying for another's need, or trying to comfort someone in pain. But at times it may feel as if an entire relationship is burdensome. I may need to 'bear with' people until I learn to love them...The ministry of bearing with one another is more than simply tolerating difficult people. It is also learning to hear God speak through them. It is learning to be 'for' them. It is learning that the difficult person I have most to deal with is me.
"This means that a part of the ministry to which I am called is to free people--repeatedly if necessary--from the little mental prisons to which I consign them."
2 comments:
I have recently become aware that sometimes I have difficulty putting up with some, not because of their faults but because of my own sin.
My selfishness and pride get in the way more often than I care to admit.
God help me grow and mature.
Help me to follow the example Jesus.
OH Pastor: This post is so true on so many levels! And I agree with Tom, it's my own selfishness that makes other people hard to 'bear'. The fault is not theirs, it's mine. I pray that I will stop being judgemental and selfish!
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