Historical Posts
Patience – Colossians 3:13
Text: Colossians 3:13
It’s a good thing God is patient with us.
We fall down, kick ourselves, get back up, and promise this time we’ll do better. Next time we’ll be stronger. And then we do it again.
I wonder if that ever frustrates God?
Even so, he keeps on forgiving, keeps on blessing, keeps on bearing with us.
And he asks us to do the same with others.
Remember the story of the king who had a servant who owed him 10,000 talents? – Matthew 18:23-34
A talent, by the way, was how much a worker would earn in about 20 years, so 10,000 talents was the equivalent of how much you could earn in about 200,000 years.
In other words, this servant will never pay it back. Ever. He’s in debt for the rest of his life.
So the king did the unthinkable:
- He canceled the debt
- Wiped it away
- Acted as if it’d never existed
It’s hard to imagine how excited this servant must’ve been. He’d gotten his life back.
When Jesus tells this story, he focuses more on what this once-indebted-but-now-forgiven servant did with someone who owed him about a hundred days’ pay.
A hundred days versus 200,000 years.
He’s just been forgiven of an incredibly huge debt, so what will he do with a debt that’s miniscule in comparison?
He does the unthinkable.
He chokes the guy, then throws him in prison until he pays him back.
The Lord’s point is clear.
We’ve been forgiven of an unpayable debt, so we’ve got to extend that same kind of patience toward others.
Do you struggle to forgive?
Today, right now, are you holding a grudge?
Are you impatient with the weaknesses of the people around you? Your spouse, your kids, your co-workers, your employees?
Paul says one of the marks of spirituality is patience: “bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.” (Colossians 3:13).
The story the Lord told doesn’t have a happy ending.
The king found out what his servant had done, so he threw him in prison, “until he should pay all his debt” (Matthew 18:34).
In other words, the guy would serve a few thousand consecutive life sentences.
God’s patience forgives our sins and bears with our weaknesses.
He’s serious about it when he says we need to do the same.
“So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.” Matthew 18:35
Content by Donald W. Treadway
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Friends Sometimes Disagree – Acts 15:36-41
Text: Acts 15:36-41
Sometimes even good friends disagree, occasionally quite sharply.
I’m not sure who was right, but Barnabas and Paul once got in an argument. Apparently it was bad enough that they decided they couldn’t work together, at least for a while. Luke tells us what happened:
Then after some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us now go back and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they are doing.”
Now Barnabas was determined to take with them John called Mark. But Paul insisted that they should not take with them the one who had departed from them in Pamphylia, and had not gone with them to the work.
Then the contention became so sharp that they parted from one another.
And so Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus; but Paul chose Silas and departed, being commended by the brethren to the grace of God. And he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.
(Acts 15:36-41)
Mark had left them before…
We don’t know all the details, but Mark had gone with Paul and Barnabas on a previous missionary trip, and for some reason he had left them and returned home (Acts 13:13).
Was he homesick? Scared? Discouraged?
We don’t know, but whatever the reason, Paul didn’t think it was legitimate, and he wasn’t ready to take Mark on another trip.
So, between Paul and Barnabas, who was right? Should they have taken Mark?
There’s no way to know for sure, and maybe it was just a matter of opinion.
But I’d go with Barnabas.
Don’t you think it’s better to forgive?
Even Paul later changed his mind about Mark. Shortly before he died he wrote Timothy: “Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for ministry” (2 Timothy 4:11).
Second Chances
Try this: given an opportunity to give someone a second chance, do it. Forgive. Overlook. Think the best.
Barnabas decided to give Mark another opportunity to prove himself, and apparently the young man didn’t disappoint him.
So . . . forgive your spouse. Don’t hold grudges.
Look for your children’s good points and try, when possible, to overlook their faults.
Think good things about your friends and fellow church members, and de-emphasize their negative traits.
Don’t you want people to give you the benefit of the doubt?
People tend to live up to what we expect from them, and it’s usually best to think the best.
Content by Donald W. Treadway
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