19 February 2008 Devotion for Today “Bear With Me” Romans 15:1-6

19 February 2008 Devotion for Today “Bear With Me” Romans 15:1-6

One morning a few years ago I went outside to get the car ready to drive for an early morning meeting when I saw the most horrendous mess. The trash can had been knocked over, and its contents had been strewn from one end of the drive way to the other. Garbage was even to be found in the yard and on the porch. I thought to myself, “I don’t have time for this- I’m running late as it is!” I set to work picking up the debris from the yard. It was not the sort of thing that fills one’s heart full of joy. That was especially after I discovered that there were two large piles of, well- you know. And I did not discover them until after I had stepped in one of them! “What could have caused this?” I thought to myself. Then I remembered that my son Jared, who is somewhat of an animal expert, mentioned to me a few days before that he thought he had found the paw prints of a bear in his garden. I dismissed it offhand, thinking that bears wouldn’t get this close to a house where there was so much activity, especially right next to a church. I went back to the garden to look for the print, but the rain from the previous night had obscured it too much to see what it really was. Did we have a slothsome visitor? Could be. He sure did make a mess. I wanted to scold the bear, but he was not present at the time, and even if he had been, he would not have comprehended my displeasure. I would not want to harm the bear, for he is a beautiful specimen of nature. For all the displeasure the bear causes he was put there by God to help balance the ecosystem.

Have you ever had a bear with you? Perhaps not, but if you will forgive the awful pun here, I am sure you have had to “bear” with other things even more inconvenient. Dealing with the frustrating shortcomings and limitations of others is what we as Christians are called to do with a Christlike spirit of love and meekness. Sometimes we are called to love people who trample on our world with reckless abandon, and they don’t even know that they are doing anything wrong.

In Romans, the Apostle Paul speaks of this necessity for the sake of our witness and preserving and building unity in the body of Christ.

“We then who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of the weak, and not to please ourselves. 2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification. 3 For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me.” 4 For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. 5 Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus, 6 that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Romans 15:1-6

When I read this passage, I am tempted to ask, “Is there a limit to which I must tolerate the foibles of ignorance?” Certainly we are not to tolerate abuse or deliberate hurtfulness. What about doctrinal inconsistency? But Paul isn’t talking about these things. He is speaking of tolerating, in love, the quirkiness of others to the same degree that Christ puts up with the quirkiness He finds in ourselves. Yet He loves us anyway, even so much as to allow our reproach to fall on Himself. There are times when that quirkiness has the same shocking effect of seeing garbage and debris littering your driveway. It may be an irritation, but its not going to kill you. You are going to have to clean it up and deal with it, because the bear is not going to come back and clean it up. Neither are the ones who irritated us. But the love and patience of Jesus Christ will help us deal with the scruples of the weak, and hopefully before we begin to pull the hair out of our head. The cause of unity in the body of Christ depends upon our resisting the urge to express that anger, and provides an opportunity to bring loving guidance to bear upon the one creating that intolerable situation.

Is there a bear lurking in the woods nearby? He usually isn’t there to harm you. He is probably hungry, and placed there by God if for no other reason than to stretch your character. People around us that tend to crash up our world are also spiritually hungry and depend on us to feed them, not hurt them. Remember also that there are others who no doubt have to bear with you.

Have a blessed day!