comfort level

I have come to realize that sometimes, the comfort level we have with a person can determine the level of patience or how tolerant we are towards them. It’s as if the more secure we are in their love, the greater the tendency to take it for granted. The more we know that they will forgive us even if we hurt them, the greater our inclination to be insensitive and careless when we deal with them. Take for example an incident that happened at my friend’s house. While he was preparing snacks for us, his younger sister took his iPad from the table without his permission so she could play. When he saw her playing with it, he berated her rather harshly. However, when another friend of ours (who came late and did not see what happened between our friend and his sister) did the exact same thing, he took it in stride. He even asked him how the battery life was and gave him his charger so he could continue playing.

I asked my friend why he was harsher towards his sister than our friend and he said that it’s because he knew he could make it up to his sister by leaving his iPad with her when he goes to work. He added that it doesn’t take a lot for them to sort out the misunderstanding and for her to forgive him. If on the other hand he reprimanded our friend, the level of security he felt towards their friendship was not as firm as the bond with that of his sister’s so he was scared that if they do get in a fight, it might take a while for them to patch things up.

What my friend did to his sister made me realize that this is what He has been personally calling me to understand during this season of Lent. More than just asking for forgiveness, He is calling me to turn away from this distorted and skewed logic that I sometimes have of His love and mercy. See, there are times when I err and sin because I become so transfixed and complacent with the knowledge that He will take me back and forgive me as long as I’m sincere with my confession. Knowing that He will always be there to welcome me back in His arms leads me to justify sinning; which is wrong on so many levels. While I should be comfortable and secure in His unconditional love for me (and you :), I should always remember that it should be the force that anchors me in Him and not the one that separates me from Him by way of sin.