Tuesday, April 18, 2017

Never Forgive; Never Forget

Tuesday, April 18, 2017
Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.  Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you.  Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.  Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony.  And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts.  For as members of one body you are called to live in peace.  And always be thankful.  Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives.  Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives.  Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts.  And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.  Colossians 3:12-17(NLT)
In the nut-doesn’t-fall-too-far-from-the-tree department:  when our children and grandchildren were really small we always had fun passing around their photos placed alongside those of their parents and grandparents at that age.  You can see the inherited features and play the guessing game as to who they resembled most, and what character and personality traits might also be passed along. 
I don’t know if God does that with His family, but there are some character traits Paul urges us to develop, even if they don’t come naturally:  tenderheartedness, mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 
On top of that lifetime-to-develop mega-list of goodies is forgiving!  Oh, MY!
Have you ever had trouble with that one?  After all, there are some things that really work against being ABLE to forgive; memory is just not set up that way.  God did not hardwire us to forget, and forgetting makes forgiving a little difficult.
But Paul follows up the “commands” that we must be merciful and forgiving towards each other with some really helpful advice on how to make it happen.
He says we are called to live in-peace.  In the eastern mindset, peace is more than an absence of conflict or noise; it is a positive condition that includes the very best life has to offer.  That’s impossible when you have hatred or an unforgiving heart.
The medicine against such follows next in Paul’s advice; if you want that sense of peace, Paul says here’s how:
And always be thankful.  Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives.  Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives.  Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts.  And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father. 
A song of gratitude, wise counsel, and a constant awareness that, as part of God’s family, when you come in contact with someone, anyone; even that person who hurt you and made your life miserable or painful…you are God’s goodwill ambassador…these are wonderful antacids for the caustic, unforgiving heart. 

For You Today

Got anyone standing in the way of peace?  That person needs to meet an ambassador of Godly forbearance!

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road…have a blessed day!
NOTES

 I Title image: By Victorgrigas (Own work), via Wikimedia Commons

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