The silence was deafening. Neither she nor her husband wanted
to be the first to speak.
They had driven like this for miles, both of them staring out the window,
unwilling to make eye contact. Until… with one sweeping motion his hand
reached across the great divide of the console and found her hand. As their fingers
intertwined the tension seemed to melt away. It wasn’t long before the “I’m
sorrys” came tumbling out of both of their hearts and mouths.
In Colossians 3, the apostle Paul reminds us that because we have been graciously forgiven by Jesus, we should be willing to release this same gift to others. He says,
“Tolerate the weaknesses of those in the family of faith, forgiving one another in the same way you have been graciously forgiven by Jesus Christ. If you find fault with someone, realize this same gift of forgiveness to them. For love is supreme and must flow through each of these virtues. Love becomes the mark of true maturity. “
As we walk in the light, maturity starts to mark us in such a way that love begins to reign supreme. It’s not that we don’t still have ample opportunities to exercise the gift of forgiveness because real-life relationships are messy. As conflicts arise, we can feel justified in our “fault-finding” and harbor unforgiveness. Or we can reach our hand across the console and release the hurt, replacing it with love, just as Jesus did for us.
True maturity comes when we are willing to do the hard things. It’s then that we are marked by love and we can demonstrate to others that love is indeed supreme.
This Reflecting Light and others will be published in April’s new book Made to Shine: 90 Devotions to Enjoy and Reflect God’s Light to be released on May 5, 2020. Preorder your copy from Amazon today!
