Good morning everyone,

Colossians 3 v12,13-Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and
beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and
patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint

against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you,
so you also must forgive.

There is a beauty in this text that allows for relationships to have
a realism about it that people have in close friendships and family.

The apostle Paul knows the strains of what being with each other can bring,
even within a church, so he brings "elasticitly" into the
relationship in stating such a truth.

One of the things that has played out as tragic in society is the

backlash against having to deal with constant "strains" in relationships.
But what is really happening in relationships that are so quick to be
broken is an ignorance of expectations. Not allowing room for people

to not only be imperfect but forever "quirky" and different than us is
reality, not incompatibility!

How this naïve outlook effects a church and the building of genuine
community can be hurtful as well. People who carry around this idea of

compatibility like a spiritual "e-harmony" won’t stick it out in the
difficulties that accompany any real relationship. So instead of
trying to cultivate deep meaningful relationships within a church we

settle for people who are "compatible". Yet like couples, I believe
the maturity within the relationship comes by knowing that patience is
a fruit that bears itself with time, and not a waste of time. The

Lord’s patience and love with us brought us to Him, so let our
standard be His, that realism can bring depth to our relationships.

In His Love, Ld