Make Allowances

“Make allowance for each other’s faults and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.” Colossians 3:13

My brother called me on June 12th. He lives four states away and we don’t get to see each other much. He called so I could wish him a happy birthday. Now, I know what you are thinking. What kind of sister doesn’t remember to call her brother on his birthday? The sad part is, he did the same thing last year. And just like last year, I went through my list of apologies and reasons (or maybe excuses) for why I forgot to call, but my brother knows me well. We shared a few laughs and caught up on our lives. Even though I profusely apologized for missing his birthday (again), I could almost hear my brother grinning as we were about to hang up. His last words to me were, “So, I’ll call you again next year?”

Try as I might, he already knows I won’t remember, and he’s already chosen to forgive me. I love that about him. He makes allowances for my faults, just like Paul says we should do here in Colossians. So often we are quick to take offense rather than make allowances, but let’s face it. We’re all human and all faulty in one way or another. If we refuse to make allowances for the faults of others, we’re going to find this world to be a very lonely place. Everyone’s perfect until you get to know them.

We live in a fallen world full of faulty people. Sometimes those people offend you, but you need to learn to forgive them. After all, the Lord forgave you. You can get offended because your sister always forgets to call you on your birthday, or like my brother, you can choose to make allowances for her faults and just enjoy the relationship you have with her. And, if we’re being perfectly honest, over the years she might just have made a few allowances for your faults as well.