Monday, August 29, 2016

making excuses

Lewis tells us about making excuses today in A Year with C.S. Lewis.

He says that we tend to make excuses for our own sins. And that's true. In fact, this is one way that we love ourselves, and that we need to learn to love others, isn't it? We always assume the best for ourselves... we give ourselves the benefit of the doubt, and we look for all of the reasons why what we did is not so bad after all.

When we learn to love others, we learn to do that for them. To give them the benefit of the doubt. To want the best for them. To realize that they did the things they did not because they're horrible people, but because they're struggling with things just like we do.

We all need forgiveness. And we all have reasons why we slip and fall and fail. Let's be patient with ourselves, and patient with others, the way that He is patient with us. As it says in 2 Peter (3:9), He is not slow in keeping His promises, but He is being patient with all of us, because He wants everyone to come to repentance so that none of us are lost.

That's what patience looks like.

God, please help us to be patient with ourselves, and with each other.


1 comment:

Julie said...

Patience is one of the toughest virtues in my opinion