People can be difficult.
They are stubborn, slow to learn and stuck in their ways.
Just like us.
I love that Paul doesn’t pretend relationships are easy.
He writes in Colossians 3:13, “Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” (NIV)
In other words: make room for imperfect people.
Why? Because God made room for an imperfect you.
Forgiveness doesn’t mean what happened was okay.
It doesn’t mean there shouldn’t be boundaries or consequences.
It means we refuse to allow someone else’s offense to keep owning space in our hearts.
It means we release what they did to God and trust Him with them.
It means we remind ourselves that God is able to do abundantly more than we can ask or imagine.
It means that we let God do His work and not try to “save” them ourselves.
We forgive because we have been forgiven.
The grace God pours into us was never meant to stop with us.
Grace received becomes grace given.
Trust grows as we trust God with those we love the most.
Lord Jesus, thank You for the grace You have given me. Help me extend that grace to others and forgive as freely as I have been forgiven. In Your Powerful Name, Amen.