Eph. 4:1-3

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

Wouldn’t it be nice to attend a church where everybody was like you, looked at life the same way you do, same sports, same enthusiasm, same affection, gosh wouldn’t it be great just to have another you. We would have a perfect Church, ..NOT!

No Jesus takes different personalities of all different backgrounds and blends them together to make up his Church and at some point we find we must bear with one another. So what is the scripture trying to teach us in walking out the Christian faith in the body of Christ?

The Greek word for “forbear” literally means “to put up with” and carries with it the idea of restraint, endure, and tolerate.

So to bear with one another in love, means to look beyond their personality faults and quirks. It means to give them some room to be themselves, Wow what a neat thought that people in the Church didn’t have to be under pressure to conform to someone else’s standards but have the liberty to become what God desires without judgment.

Bearing with one another keeps us from being critical and spiritually arrogant and requires there to be honest; disagreement and differences do exist. Its alright for individuals to not see life the same way but truly have brotherly love for one another, seeking to overlook one another’s faults, just as Christ has overlooked your faults. This requires grace and discernment.

Now there are times when one steps over the theological line and enters into sin against someone and in this instance sin necessitates the process of confession (and that is not just saying I’m sorry, but specifically naming the offense), praying together and forgive one another. There will always be times that we will sin against one another and must humbly take the road of reconciliation for the health of not only the Church but ourselves.

Bearing with one another helps us to see ourselves in the weakness of others and together, submits our lives to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.