Put Up with One Another's Failings

Readings:
Psalm 31
Ephesians 4:1-6

Focus:
Ephesians 4:2: "Be humble always and gentle, and patient, too, putting up with one another's failings in the spirit of love."

Sometimes we hear about how we can do great things for God, and help bring about his kingdom, by going on short-term mission trips to other countries where there is terrible poverty, and spending a couple of weeks working on projects there. Or we can give up some of our time volunteering for a local project, helping the homeless or people with other needs.

These things are important to do, and they are indeed part of what God wants us to do.

But we must not forget that another part of bringing God's kingdom about here on earth involves behaving with kindness and forbearance to other people in our daily lives. When other people irritate us, responding with patience and not with anger is hard to do, but it is one of the ways we obey God and show love. Maybe anger is what people deserve, but love is what God wants.

I try to remember this question: "Will my action make God's kingdom come closer, or will it push it further away?" I forget to ask myself this a lot, but it's a good question to remember.