Forbearing part 5
There's a big difference between putting up with someone and forbearing them in love. And the difference is the last word of that sentence. Love. I've long preached and Ranted about how the people who are the hardest to love are people who need love the most. Because they aren't getting any. Because they're hard to love. The people who push you away are the people who need you the most. Because if they're pushing everybody away that means they're all alone. So don't give up on people. Longsuffering, right? But, as a balance, you know I'm not saying you should ever put yourself, or keep yourself, in a bad situation. Letting someone abuse you is NOT what I'm talking about. What I'm talking about is loving people no matter what. What I'm talking about is laying your life down. Giving everything you have and everything you are without worrying about how it will be receieved. Because sometimes it WON'T be received. Sometimes you'll go the extra mile for someone and it won't matter to them at all. But that says more about them than it does about you. And either way, you've done what you can do. And that's literally all you can do. When you give something (or someone) everything you've got... its either enough, or its not. And you can't do anything about whether it is or it isn't. All you can do is let what's inside come out (by knowing and believing that its inside). All you can do is all you can do. But its so important that you do all you can do HEARTILY. As unto the Lord. Heartily, to me, meaning because its in your heart to do it. Unto the Lord, because its the Jesus--the light, the love--in me that connects to the Jesus--the light, the love--in you. And even if you despitefully use me, even if you mean it for evil, the Lord means it for good. We go through things--I believe--for one of two reasons. Usually both. 1. So we can learn and grow. 2. So we can help others when they go through the same things. And that's a big part of being able to forbear. We don't judge people for going through the stuff we went through. We have empathy for them because we've been through it. We know what they're going through, and we can help them through it. We can bear one another's burdens, and in that way make them lighter. Many hands make light work, right? If I take care of you, and you take care of me, neither one of us has to worry about ourselves. That's pure. That's good stuff. And when we get over ourselves (and stop taking everything so personally) we can really start to embrace each other. We can really start to look for common ground. Instead of kicking people when they're down we can REACH down and help people up. When you go through something with someone it bonds you to them. When you're in the trenches, so to speak, you build that connection. And then you're working together instead of doing your own thing and just putting up with them. I don't know how else to say this: We're all in this thing called life together. Jesus is altogether lovely. And we, His body, are lovely all together. We need each other. You can do things I can't. And I can do things you can't. And together, in love, we can do anything. We can do everything. So don't worry about surface stuff. Don't worry about how people act towards you. Just give them what you've got. Love them anyway. Be who YOU are no matter what else is going on. And in that way, forbear one another in love!