Still Learning (Friday Devotional)

“We who are strong ought to put up with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Each of us must please our neighbor for the good purpose of building up the neighbor. May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, in accordance with Christ Jesus, so that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.”

- Romans 15:1-2, 5-7

When you’re teaching someone how to play a board game, you have to be patient. Sometimes new players want to read through the rulebook first, other times they just want to dive in and learn as they go. Sometimes they’re full of questions, other times they want to figure it out for themselves. What is plain to you is brand new to them, from basic rules to more complicated strategies, and your task is to walk them through it all until they’ve gotten the hang of it. No doubt about it, the first few times you play a game with a novice, it’s going to be clumsy.

Yet despite that initial awkwardness, you keep going. You don’t get angry at their ignorance and throw the board across the room or demand that they figure things out faster. You offer hints where you can, you gently remind them when they forget a rule, and you let them correct their mistakes to keep the game moving. After all, they’re still learning.

Imagine if we adopted that sort of attitude with our brothers and sisters in the church. After all, every believer is continually growing in the knowledge and faith of Christ, every one of us is still learning. Yet too often we are harsh judges of our fellow Christians, holding them to a standard of perfection that we ourselves could not meet.

Paul offers a good reminder in this season of peace that church harmony doesn’t come from perfection among the saints, but from the mercy we extend to one another. Rather than condemning a brother when he stumbles, the church is called to respond to his repentant spirit with encouragement and forgiveness, welcoming him back with the same grace Christ gives. So in your relationships, especially with fellow believers, may you seek peace with the merciful spirit of Jesus, remembering that all of us are still learning.