Seek First – Kingdom Focused Devotionals

“Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you” (Eph. 4:32). 

                Just as bitterness, wrath, anger, and slander should never characterize a believer, the qualities described in this verse should mark the Christian community.  They do so because they are the qualities that characterized our Lord.

                Kindness is a quality that is never out of date but is always in short supply.  It doesn’t cost anything to “try a little kindness” and yet our old nature all too often wants to strike out to “get even” or “pay someone back.” 

                Tender hearted describes the person who is merciful.  Luke 6:35 instructs us to be merciful even as our Father is merciful.  Aren’t you glad that God approached us with mercy, offering us forgiveness.  We too often want people to get “what they deserve” whereas God desires that we receive what we could never deserve but desire most—forgiveness.  It is the kindness and mercy of God which brought us to Him.  Now those qualities must be clearly seen in His followers if the world is to be changed. 

                Those who have been forgiven at so great a cost must be forgiving of others.  Someone must model this behavior which requires the turning of the other cheek and the going of the second mile.  Why not us?  Why not now?  This verse reminds us of the Lord’s Prayer where followers are instructed to forgive in the same manner they have been forgiven.  Such a response to evil is not possible by human effort!  It is possible for those who walk in the Spirit. 

Prayer:  Father, may I reflect Your character and love as I forgive in the same manner that You have forgiven me.  Amen

“Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice” (Eph. 4:31).

                The believer is so concerned with preserving the unity of the Spirit and thus not grieving the Spirit that he/she desires to put away everything which threatens that unity which has been provided by the Spirit.  When we read this verse, we must ask the Spirit to reveal when we harbor attitudes and behavior problems which threaten the unity of the body of Christ.

                Bitterness often comes when we think we have been wronged by another.  Rather than resolving the matter in a biblical manner, we nurse that “perceived hurt” until it becomes a root of bitterness that defiles the body of Christ.  Words like wrath, anger, clamor, and slander do not need further clarification.  We know what they mean and we also are aware that they are sometimes in evidence in our lives and thus in our homes and our churches.  These selfish and evil forms of response must be put away from you.  They must be thrust from our lives. 

                Ugly as these attitudes are, they serve to provide a clear backdrop for the graces that follow in verse 32.  Do you want to be known for bitterness, wrath, and anger or for tender-hearted forgiveness?

Prayer:  Father, forgive me for an attitude or behavior pattern which harms Your body.