This video was embedded using the YouTuber plugin by Roy Tanck. Adobe Flash Player is required to view the video.

 

Worship as you read this devotion by pressing the arrow.
Song: Audio Adrenaline Ocean Floor

Scripture
Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, Peter this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny three times that you even know me.” Mark 14:30

Observation
How would you treat a friend if you knew in advance that he would soon deeply offend you? Would you snatch the welcome mat from your front door? Would you let caller ID protect you from his phone calls? Jesus experienced this problem with Peter, for the Lord knew in advance of Peter’s soon coming triple denial. Though he knew the worst about Peter, nevertheless, Jesus prayed the best for his life.

It is amazing not just that the Lord accepts us in spite of our past; it is also astounding that he loves us knowing our future. He accepts us knowing full well we will offend him again. That is true love.

There are two similar but different words at work here. The first is to “forgive”. Forgiveness has to do with releasing the hurtful actions of the past. The second is to “forbear”. Forbearance is another dimension of forgiveness because it looks into the future. When we have come to know one another well, sometimes too well, we can have a sense of a person’s vulnerabilities and a hunch of how they will offend us again. Forbearance is the choice to forgive in advance. It is the decision to make allowances for the weaknesses of others.

At its core, forbearance is the choice to know others not by their weaknesses, but by their strengths. Jesus did that for Peter. He said elsewhere that he ahd prayed for Peter and when he was restored he was to restore his brothers too. Even though Christ knew Peter’s fatal flaw he still chose to know Peter as a rock of strength for others.

Application
If we are forbear with others, we must start with a wide-eyed acceptance of their weaknesses and finish with a premeditated choice to forgive. In fact, it should take us even further to pray preemptive prayers to help guard them from their own sins and to pray the best for their future. Love is not just releasing the past but bracing another for the future. Forbearance is the choice to scuttle immature views of forgiveness that suggest we will never be offended again. Instead, we need a buoyancy to process the future offenses of those we love; that is the step beyond forgiveness into forbearance.

Prayer
Father, sometimes I find myself in conversations where I am critiquing the performance of others rather than praying for them. You have not given me discernment to judge others but to pray better for them. Help me to pray prayers that protect others from their own actions. Amen.