Week 47
Ephesians 4:32 “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.”
The gospel of Jesus Christ applied by God’s saving grace in the power of the Holy Spirit transforms people in the most remarkable and manifestational way. A person demonstrates true virtue when he or she is kind, tenderhearted, and forgiving. How unusual and rare it is to find someone who actually lives out these character traits!
Kindness, tenderheartedness, and forgiveness show that the heart-focus of life is “other-centered”, which demonstrates a true and radical shift in the motivational force of the inner being. In sinfulness, the person is self-centered, self-focused, self-driven, and self-exalting. In sinfulness the person asks all the wrong questions in life, usually driven by “what is best for me?” The selfish life is driven by the assumed autonomy and authority of the self. If anyone were to dare question the person’s authority and sovereignty, then anger arouses as if to defend the narcissistic kingdom built on self-focused aims and perceptions.
But when the grace of God in the power of the Holy Spirit saves a person, this person is saved from the grip and domination of self-absorbed sin. The Lord gives us a new heart, and a new life centered on Christ, love, and truth, not on self. This changes the perspective and drives the person to ask all sorts of different types of questions: How can I serve others? How can I be of benefit to the kingdom of God? How can I show love to those people who are mistreating me?
We are never more like God than when we show a kind and tender heart, forgiving those who have hurt us. To patiently look beyond the offense and to forgive the person for their misdeeds is very much like God. It is a God-like thing to show mercy and forgiveness.
What drives the Christian to go beyond the “call of duty” and forgive those who have offended and harmed us? The text helps us answer this question in that the text says that we forgive others because we are a forgiven people. God has forgiven us of our sins; thus, we offer forgiveness to others. God has cleansed us from our sins, and our joy overflows because of God’s forgiveness freely given to us in Christ. Therefore, we offer to others the kindness that forgives them when they trespass against us. This is hard to do at times, but it shows that we are deeply aware that God has mercifully forgiven us, and we want to pass on that kindness to others.
If kindness and forgiveness mark the Christian, would others say they see these qualities in us? Let us look to the cross of Christ and the Christ of the cross and pray that the Lord will give to us a tenderhearted gratitude for the mercy granted to us. And may we pray that we will be courageous and strong to offer the kindness of forgiveness to others.
Prayer: Dear Lord, please grant that I might be forgiving to others who have offended me. Thank You for forgiving me in Christ. I want to be more like You. Amen.