Unity Seed – Extend Mercy: Bear with Each Other

Key Verse

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
Colossians 3:12-13 (NIV)

Short Reflection

In our pandemic experience, many of us have difficulty. These verses are timely, so we have the desire to help as well as to extend mercy. As Paul mentioned in these verses, we are ‘chosen by God,’ meaning that He will use us in the wider ministry. Becoming a follower of Christ is not easy, especially when we think about ourselves. Our attitude needs to be on the character traits mentioned here. Just as we experience God’s concern, how we feel His care, so should we make our neighbors feel as well of how important they are to our Lord.

The challenge is for us as believers and followers of Christ, the character traits mentioned must be natural and let us work together without expecting something in return, because we know that God will reward us for what we have done.

So, brothers and sisters, if someone has hurt us or if he has done something that is not in favor to us, this is the time that we show how God changed us, how He molds our character, how we bear, and how we forgive one another. Just as Christ has made us feel His care (love and forgave us) since He took our sins to the cross of Calvary, it is only right that we seek to preserve that love and that care by making it felt to others as well. Praise be to God.

Lord, let this reader and I be “All for One”, and as a result, bear with each other like Jesus bears with each of us.

This is the second in the “Extend Mercy” series of blog posts and is written by Jervie Magat, the PEER Servants Co-Director of Global Youth Empowerment, living in and from the Philippines and on staff with our Filipino partner, The Center for Community Transformation.