Put Up With It

Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another,
forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must
forgive. (Colossians 3:13)

Sometimes – in a marriage, in families, in work relationships, and in the community, it’s hard to put up with people. Things they do irritate us until eventually we want to shout out - “Would you just STOP it!” As patient and forgiving as we try to be, we all have our limits.

Reflecting on this passage, Matthew Henry describes this dilemma well –

“Many can bear a short provocation who are weary of bearing when it grows long. But if God is long-suffering to us, under all our provocations of him, we should exercise long-suffering to others in like cases. We have all of us something that needs to be endured, and this is a good reason why we should bear with others in what is disagreeable to us.” (Matthew Henry)

In other words, put up with each other just as God puts up with you.