“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
Ephesians 4:32
Be kind and compassionate. It’s not a surprising command. It’s something we’ve heard over and over again. Forgive each other. It’s nothing new. What’s important in this verse, besides these obvious points, is the reason we ought to be this way.
This isn’t a command from a detached, uninvolved God, giving rules just for the sake of rules. It’s not an unreachable goal or an unfair standard. Instead, it’s a lifestyle that God showed us first hand. We know how to be kind and compassionate, how to forgive, because God has been kind and compassionate to us. He has forgiven us over and over. What he asks of us is to pass on what he has given to us.
It can be hard to forgive, hard to be kind, hard to have compassion. It’s especially hard when we feel like a person doesn’t deserve it. It’s in those times that we have to remember the why: because in Christ, God forgave us in the exact same way. When we didn’t deserve it, when we had no excuse, no reason to be forgiven, God forgave us. When we were cruel, God was kind to us. When we were irreconcilable, God had mercy on us. In that same way, we can extend grace, kindness, compassion, forgiveness to all of those who may not deserve it, just as we didn’t.
It’s not natural. In fact, it’s completely unnatural. It’s a supernatural ability that defies logic. It only makes sense if you have come to know and believe in a loving, kind, forgiving, and compassionate God. But when you do, when you have believed him and you have come to know him, it begins to make perfect sense. As God loved us, so must we love others. As Christ forgave us, so must we forgive others. It’s how we know that we’ve come to know him – we begin to act like him.
Prayer:
Father,
Kindness and compassion aren’t always easy. Forgiveness can be especially difficult. When I find myself having a difficult time with this, help me to remember the love, kindness, mercy, and forgiveness that you’ve given me, and allow that to flow into my own relationships and interactions.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen.
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