Day 31 of our series by John Rountree and is focused on being gracious with each other as we are at home! Any of the Devotionals can be read as a stand alone quiet time(s). You can see more devotionals here
Contents
Be Gracious to One Another
By John Rountree
As the days and weeks go on with the Covid-19 quarantine, I can find myself at times more on edge and irritable. Small annoyances seem to get bigger and my own bad habits can annoy my wife and 2 adult children, now living with us. I can lose patience with myself and my family at times.
I do believe that God is moving through this pandemic and that he is working in each of our lives to refine our character as we face the challenges of being socially isolated but in close proximity to our immediate families.
I also believe God is giving us an opportunity to grow closer to our family members and to develop stronger bonds that will last a lifetime and strengthen us for whatever challenges lie ahead. It can be a time to heal broken relationships, to confront and deal with past hurts and nurture our gratitude for what God has given us in our families.
We need to be aware that satan is also at work and sees this as an opportunity to divide us. He wants us to nurture our own self pity and irritability to feel justified in our anger with one another and ourselves.
Being loving and gracious to one another always can be challenging under the present circumstances so it is good for us to turn to the Bible for direction and encouragement.
Here are a few scriptures that have helped me:
Ephesians 4:2
2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.
Ephesians 4:32
32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Ephesians 5:21
21 Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Romans 12:10
10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.
Romans 12:16
16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.[a] Do not be conceited.
Romans 15:7
7 Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.
Ephesians 4:2
2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.
Ephesians 4:32
32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
James 1:19-20
19 My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20 because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.
1 Thessalonians 5:11
11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
Being humble is not easy, especially when we feel in the right, but it is what God calls us to do. Therefore, be quick to apologize. Nurturing Godly relationships is more important than winning an argument. After all, most of the minor conflicts we have with each other are forgotten after a few hours or day or two. What we will remember, however, is the love we have for each other and how we honored God by being humble.
Besides, we are not the judge of each other, God is, an God values humility over self righteousness.
So, take the high road….go the way of Jesus….say “I’m sorry” and move on!!
Q: How are you doing with embracing Gods grace for you? Have you been hard on yourself? Do you feel a lot of pressure?
Q: How has it been in the home? How can you foster a gracious enviroment
Q: Which of the above scriptures do you most need to put into practice?