You may have heard the old story about a bride and groom long ago who were leaving on their honeymoon in a buggy pulled by a horse. As they traveled, a piece of paper fluttered across the road and the horse bolted. When the man regained control of the horse he said, "That's one!"

Later in the day, a rabbit jumped from the side of the road and ran in front of the horse. Again the horse bolted. When the man regained control of the horse this time he said, "That's two!"

Something similar happened later in the day and the groom said, "That's three!" He then pulled out his gun and killed the horse.

His startled and bewildered wife said, "Why John, that's terrible; you can't do that!" Her new husband looked at her with expressionless eyes and said, "That's one!"

We have limits on how much we're willing to tolerate from others. Peter thought a generous limit was "seven times" of being sinned against (Matt. 18:21). Jesus said, though, that we are to forgive up to "seventy times seven" (Matt. 18:22), without limit.

I think one of the most difficult Christian traits for us to develop is forbearance, which is the ability to "put up with others". We expect others to tolerate and overlook our shortcomings, but we are often slow to do the same for others. Let us be reminded of these words from Paul:

"Therefore, as the elect of God,
holy and beloved,
put on tender mercies,
kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering;
bearing with one another,
and forgiving one another,
if anyone has a complaint against another;
even as Christ forgave you,
so you also must do."
(Col. 3:12-13)