and walk in love, just as Christ also
loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a
fragrant aroma.
One of the most
difficult things we do in life is to deal with difficult people with love. It is easier to avoid someone or even to be
mean rather than to show love or even to forgive. When we choose to step up and show the love
of God, we choose to act outside of the natural, or what feels natural, and to
do what is supernatural.
This kind of action
doesn’t make us a superhero or make us better than someone else. Often what showing love, being kind of
offering forgiveness does is open the opportunity for God to be seen and heard
by the people you encounter.
Who are the people
in your life that need to see love? Who
are some of the people in your life that rarely have someone show genuine
concern for? I believe that there are
people all around us who are kind of falling through the proverbial cracks
because they rarely see Christians do Christian things. It is easier to take care of self or just
move on and not deal with other people.
Be kind to one another, tender-hearted,
forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.
It is always right
to do the right thing. Heard that
before? There is always time to do the
right thing. How about that on? Often we choose the short cut in
relationships and in other situations that come up. It is the shortcuts that often cause the most
damage.
God uses your heart
and mine, our actions and our words to point people to Him. One the other hand, Satan will use our
actions and our words to point people away from God, but we cannot blame Satan
for our choices. They are our choices to
either do right or wrong, to give forgiveness or to show love.
By doing right, by
showing love, by offering forgiveness we might just open the door for someone
to meet Jesus for the very first time.
Forgiveness really is a big deal.
Community is not possible without the
willingness to forgive one another "seventy-seven times" (see Matthew
18:22). Forgiveness is the cement of
community life. Forgiveness holds us
together through good and bad times, and it allows us to grow in mutual love.
But
what is there to forgive or to ask forgiveness for? As people who have hearts that long for
perfect love, we have to forgive one another for not being able to give or
receive that perfect love in our everyday lives. Our many needs constantly interfere with our
desire to be there for the other unconditionally. Our love is always limited by spoken or
unspoken conditions. What needs to be
forgiven? We need to forgive one another for not being God!
Colossians 3: 13, 15
"Bear
with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one
another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. Let the peace of Christ rule in your
hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be
thankful."
Henri
(Nouwen) says forgiveness takes practice. Imagine if both communities and each of us
practiced forgiveness. What could that
look like?
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