patient , bearing with one another in love . ( Ephesians 4:2 NIV )
The last phrase can be translated this way : “ tolerating one another in love .” Tolerance doesn ’ t mean relativism . That ’ s a slippery slope . It ’ s not a stamp of approval on anything that is outside God ’ s good , pleasing , and perfect will . What is it ? Biblical tolerance is giving other people the same measure of free will that God gives us . It ’ s against my religion to impose my religion on anyone else ! Oswald Chambers said it best : “ Let God be as original with others as he is with you .”
Excerpted from Please , Sorry , Thanks . Copyright 2023 by Mark Batterson . Published by Multnomah , an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC .
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Mark Batterson is the lead pastor of National Community Church in Washington , D . C . and the author of 23 books including Win the Day and his latest , Please , Sorry , Thanks : The Three Words That Change Everything .
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