“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins.” ~ 1 Peter 4:8
I have a few people in life who can be incredibly difficult to be around sometimes. Their attitudes make it challenging to want to spend any time with them, and invariably I find myself going out of my way to avoid them completely. The good news is that there’s nothing inherently wrong about that! Establishing certain boundaries with those who seem to serve no other purpose other than to create disruption in our daily lives is a much better option than subjecting ourselves to the temptation of hating them altogether.
But there is some bad news, at least for me. I too can be challenging for others to be around some days. No matter how hard I try to stay in God’s good graces, I can sometimes say or do things that steal someone else’s joy. But there is more good news. If my heart is right with God and I’m trying my best to live my life in a way that pleases Him, He is quick to let me know about it when it happens.
Friend, that is the power of the Holy Spirit at work in our lives. Although we may not hear God’s voice, we can certainly feel His Spirit gently rebuking us. Scott, why did you say that? You could’ve walked away and thought nothing more of it. But you gave in to temptation, and now you know what happens next. You owe them an apology!”
Apologizing… who enjoys doing that? If I’m being honest, not me! I mean, it’s one thing to daydream at a stoplight a few seconds after the light turns green and wave an apologetic hand to the driver behind me after he toots his horn. Sorry, my bad! But when I feel someone has said or done things that hurt me? That’s hard!
But that’s what we’re called to do as Christ followers. All throughout God’s Word, we see a common theme being instructed to us from our Creator: Forgive and love others as I have forgiven and loved you.
Me: But God, did you see the way this person treats me? Did you turn a deaf ear to the unpleasant words that he just spoke to me?
Yes, He sees it all, He hears it all. And He still commands us to be kind and forgiving, no matter the severity of our grievance. That’s what He does for us, as Believers of Christ. He forgives. And because of His grace that he extends to us, we are compelled to extend His grace to others.
Not just exclusively to those who give us joy, but also those who we sometimes find hard to love.
Former Blackout Artist 