Forbearing One Another in Love

Because we are called to walk worthy of our calling, we are told by the apostle Paul to walk "with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love" (Eph. 4:2 ).

Now to forbear is to hold oneself back, rather than to go forward as the flesh wants to do. To do that, we must walk in lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, rather than in pride, willing to suffer ourselves, rather than cause others to suffer. We must not cause the brother to suffer. We must not hurt him because of some advantage we want for our own flesh. Seeking for our own flesh an advantage that hurts the flesh of the brother is not walking worthy of our calling.

God calls us, in the first table of the law, to walk in love to Him. But He does that also in the second table where He very clearly calls us to walk in love to God by walking in love with the neighbor, especially the brothers and sisters in Christ. We had better not boast of keeping God's law in its first table, when we are breaking a commandment in the second table.

When we break the second table of the law we reveal hatred against God as surely as against the neighbor. In fact, taking God's name in vain is breaking the first table of the law. Stealing, murder, adultery, lying, coveting, and disobeying authorities is breaking both tables of the law.

Therefore, the lowliness and meekness of bowing before God's will, even when it brings suffering to us, is walking in love to God. Failing to walk in love with the neighbor is walking in hatred towards God.

We must not by our deeds try to tell God what is right. We must let Him teach us what pleases Him and what displeases Him. He is God, and when we break His law we say thereby that He must keep our law. That is not meekness and lowliness but pride. Every sin is an act of hatred rather than love to God, as is our calling.

Read: Colossians 3:1-14

Through the Bible in One Year
Read today:
Esther 8-9 ; Esther 10:1-3 
I Corinthians 12:27-31 ; I Corinthians 13 
Psalm 37:1-11 
Proverbs 21:23-24 
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Quote for Reflection:

 All (the disciples, MD) are within the sphere of Jesus’ attraction.  But the bosom is reserved for, it is the throne of, the Johns.  They feel the throbs of the Savior’s heart.  They know Him as He knows the Father.  Whose is the Gospel that leads to the Holy of Holies, that opens the door into the Lord’s innermost self?  I imagine that none but he who lay on Jesus’ breast had the outline of the last discourse and the last prayer complete in its links, complete in its clothing, in His remembrance.  The secret of the Lord was with him—“the disciple whom Jesus loved.”  ~ J. Lang