Loving, Faults and All - Martin Wiles

Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. Ephesians 4:2 NLT

Loving, faults and all, is sometimes easy and sometimes tricky.

Never had I encountered such suspicions as I did at my maternal grandparents’ house. Mom grew up on a farm. Mom’s only sister married and moved a stone’s throw away. I visited often to see my grandparents and hang out with one of my first cousins.

Visits without stories and suspicious happenings were uncommon. My aunt talked about the hag—an impish beast who came out at night, jumped on a person’s night, and paralyzed their bodies. My cousin referenced a white horse that roamed in my grandmother’s front yard. And the stories continued.

As we made our way to my grandmother’s funeral, another cousin felt my grandmother’s hand stroke her hair. Then there was the handprint that suddenly embedded itself on the same cousin’s brass bed while we were at the funeral.

After my uncle died, my aunt soon found evidence of his living spirit. A leaf floating down the hallway. The rose that mysteriously fell from its resting place in the arrangement while the minister pronounced the final words over his body.

Mom and Dad found these stories humorous—as did I. We weren’t the suspicious type. But we loved our family just the same. They were, after all, our family.

Paul encouraged believers at Ephesus to do the same. None were perfect, but a common bond joined them: Christ. Believers still are.

I’m often tempted to find fault with others. In those moments, I remind myself I have my own trunkful of faults. They may not be sinful habits, but they are blemishes, nonetheless. Paul’s instruction challenges me. Finding fault with others is the easy way out. Looking for the good—along with encouraging and loving them—takes patience, something I’ve never had large doses of.

Remembering we are all pilgrims on a similar journey also makes it easier. Loving the really difficult-to-love—my enemies and those not like me—means allowing God to remind me His Son also died for them.   

When loving others seems challenging, remember God loves you—faults and all.

Father, help me to love others with the same love You love me. 

Tweetable: Do you love others, faults and all? 

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