You know what's hard about having close friends? They'll see your flaws. The longer you're friends, the more you begin to notice the dark hidden corners of each other that casual acquaintances never have the occasion to see. They'll get frustrated at you and you will get frustrated at them. You'll misread and misunderstand each other. You might hurt each other's feelings now and then, or fail to show them how much you care. Close friendships are messy.
1 Peter 4:8 says, "Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins."
That is the key. Keep loving, keep forgiving, keep being patient. Again and again. Never stop. Fallen humanity cannot have perfect friendships, but by God's grace, we can keep coming back and sharing love that is bigger than our faults, like what Christ shows to us.
Thank you, Lord, for your patience with me, for giving me such wonderful people to be patient with, and for letting them be patient with me too. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment