"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
This verse is so hard to do. It's makes me think about perspective. It doesn't just involve yourself, it involves others. Sometimes it's hard to see things from other people's perspective. Often there is something you don't know about the person that makes them see things the way they do. People have a lot more going on then they tend to let on.
I found 2 awesome definitions of bear. The first one is: to endure something with tolerance and patience. We should be patient with one another. That takes a lot in itself. Even if they're annoying or you're in a bad mood, or they've done you wrong. Be patient.
The second definition is: to hold in the conscious mind or in one's feelings. So not only are you being patient with others, you're thinking about them and their feelings. You're taking their feelings into consideration. You have empathy.
Forgiveness is always tough. It doesn't matter if you're wrong or right, you must forgive. If you hold a grudge against someone, it's tough to move on. Why would we be unforgiving when we serve the most forgiving and loving creator ever? The act of forgiveness is a huge aspect of faith. Our whole being is based upon forgiveness of sins. Our forgiveness is at the cross. That's also where we should leave our grudges.
We are forgiven a million times a day. That thing you just said? Forgiven. That thought you just thought? Forgiven. That person you just judged? Forgiven. It's endless. EVERYTHING we have done and will do is forgiven. And we must forgive like God forgives us. So we must forgive everything because he did. It'll hurt and it will be hard, it may even seem that they weren't deserving of it. But guess what? We weren't deserving of forgiveness either.
Take time and forgive someone. It gives peace. It's shows Christ's love. Let's show it. Lets be a light. Forgive and love.
