Topic: Lasting Love Extends Grace [RICK WARREN Devotional 9 February 2020]
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BY RICK WARREN — FEBRUARY 9, 2020
“Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love” (Ephesians 4:2 NLT).No relationship will survive without grace. You’ve got to cut people some slack! You’ve got to let things go.
The Bible says, “Love patiently accepts all things” (1 Corinthians 13:7 NCV). In the original Greek, this literally means “covered with a roof.” Would you buy a house without a roof? Of course not. You’d have no protection from wind and rain. A roof covers and protects your home.
In the same way, biblical love covers a relationship and lets some things slide. It doesn’t haul people into account for every mistake they make. You need a roof on your relationship because people damage pretty easily, and we need the kind of love that extends grace.
Why is grace essential to relationships?
The Bible says in Romans 3:10 that no one always does what is right. Nobody gets it right 100 percent of the time. It’s never just one person’s fault. There’s always a responsibility on both sides. It takes two people to disagree!
We have to learn to extend grace to each other, because forgiveness is a two-way street. We cannot receive what we’re unwilling to give to other people.
You build strong relationships by treating other people the way God treats you. Romans 15:7 says, “Accept each other just as Christ has accepted you” (NLT). When you accept others as they are, looking past their faults for the sake of love, that’s extending grace.
- Why is it often hardest to forgive the people we love the most?
- Think of a relationship in your life that is broken or where grace is needed/needs to be given. Have you been waiting on the other person to apologize? How can you take a step to show that person grace?