Kindness & Forgiveness Lead to JOY!

            Have you had your JOY JUICE today?  Be kind and share generously with others.

            Ephesians 4:32 is a verse that many of us have recited since we were children.  It’s a verse that even the youngest of students can easily memorize.  The entire verse can be summarized in two words: “BE KIND”!  Simple to say….but sometimes not so easy to live out!

The entire verse says: “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.” Sometimes people interpret this verse to say that we are to forgive people only when they are kind to us. But that’s not what the Bible says.  Neither does it say that we are to forgive when the offense doesn’t amount to much. Do you feel justified in your anger when you’ve been hurt deeply?  

 

           Many of us allow our flesh to rule, and when we do that, things usually go from bad to worse!   But if we’re committed in our faith, we must learn to be obedient…let God rule us so we can be “kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving.” It’s only as we “put on” Christ and make no provision for the flesh (Rom. 13:14) that we will be able to forgive one another, even as God for Christ’s sake forgave us.  

            In a nutshell, this passage tells us to be kind and compassionate…..love with the love of God which models forgiveness. Pray for a tender heart like His and amazingly, we might just find our bitterness and anger melting away in a warm heart overflowing with JOY in the Lord.

            May I kindly remind you to show the love of Jesus by forgiving others as He forgives us!