Devotional
Bearing with One Another
By Nick Price
I own a 24-year-old Land Rover. It’s called the Hulk because it’s green, sounds angry (it’s a loud V8) and gets angry (it breaks all the time). The other week we were planning to take it to K’gari (Fraser Island) to attend a wedding on the island. The day before the wedding, I received a phone call from my wife in a fluster saying that there were flashing lights on the dashboard, smoke coming out of the bonnet, and she was worried the car was going to blow up in her face. She was annoyed at the Hulk and vented to me that she didn’t want to drive the old piece of junk anymore.
I can’t say I blame her, and you might be wondering, why I still have a 24-year old Land Rover if it continues to need repairing frequently? The answer is simple. I have realistic expectations, knowing that it is a 24-year old car. Yes, it may test my patience, but I don’t expect it to have the same reliability as a brand new Toyota, or the speed of a Lamborghini, or as good a seals as a submarine. Ask any Land Rover owner and they will tell you that part of owning a Land Rover, is putting up with leaking seals.
Sometimes in Christian community, we can have unrealistic expectations of each other or even of the Church and its leaders. We can have an idea in our head of what everyone should be doing to build the perfect community, and get frustrated when they don’t live up to our expectations. But part of being in Christian community is loving each other and bearing with our brothers and sisters.
Colossians 3:13 says “Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” (NIV)
Are your expectations of community getting in the way of loving community? Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a Christian pastor who opposed the Nazis in Germany, said:
"The person who loves their dream of community will destroy community, but the person who loves those around them will create community."
We may be experiencing community, but because we have some over-idealised or pre-formed expectation on what it should look like, we don’t realise it. Bonhoeffer reminds us that community is not just something we create but more so something that we find – that we receive from God and we need to receive it on His terms.
Jesus said, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” John 13:34 (NIV)
If you are a part of the community at Hervey Bay Baptist Church, consider how you might do the following to obey Jesus’ command above.
I can’t say I blame her, and you might be wondering, why I still have a 24-year old Land Rover if it continues to need repairing frequently? The answer is simple. I have realistic expectations, knowing that it is a 24-year old car. Yes, it may test my patience, but I don’t expect it to have the same reliability as a brand new Toyota, or the speed of a Lamborghini, or as good a seals as a submarine. Ask any Land Rover owner and they will tell you that part of owning a Land Rover, is putting up with leaking seals.
Sometimes in Christian community, we can have unrealistic expectations of each other or even of the Church and its leaders. We can have an idea in our head of what everyone should be doing to build the perfect community, and get frustrated when they don’t live up to our expectations. But part of being in Christian community is loving each other and bearing with our brothers and sisters.
Colossians 3:13 says “Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” (NIV)
Are your expectations of community getting in the way of loving community? Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a Christian pastor who opposed the Nazis in Germany, said:
"The person who loves their dream of community will destroy community, but the person who loves those around them will create community."
We may be experiencing community, but because we have some over-idealised or pre-formed expectation on what it should look like, we don’t realise it. Bonhoeffer reminds us that community is not just something we create but more so something that we find – that we receive from God and we need to receive it on His terms.
Jesus said, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” John 13:34 (NIV)
If you are a part of the community at Hervey Bay Baptist Church, consider how you might do the following to obey Jesus’ command above.
- Start with thanksgiving to God for the gift of community that you already have, rather than to lament the community you don’t yet have. Pray for those in your community – by name, and often. Reach out to others with prayers and encouragements for them.
- Use your gifts to serve and encourage others in love, for God’s glory and their good. Ask “How might God use me to bless those in my community?” rather than asking “What will I get from this community?”
- Commit to being an active part of your community. You can only grow in knowing others and being known by showing up. Invite those who are new to your community to grab a coffee and start to get to know each other.