Kindness, Compassion, Forgiveness

The Resurrection reminds us that we live in a new covenant.

But even the Old Testament reminds us of just how the Lord wants us to live.

It tells us how we were meant to live with one another.

For example, the prophet Zechariah delivered a message from God.

In that message, we are told what displeases the Lord.

Zechariah 8:17 (NET) - Do not plan evil in your hearts against one another. Do not favor a false oath—these are all things that I hate,’ says the Lord.

So, the Lord detests the planning of evil.

The Lord also detests lying.

In fact, we take offense when people do these things to us.

We also find it difficult to forgive such offenses.

But when we do these things to others, we often do not feel regret.

In fact, we find creative ways of justifying our actions.

And such practices become second nature in time.

In contrast, Paul, in his letter to the Ephesians, tells us about what pleases the Lord.

Ephesians 4:32 (NET) - Instead, be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ also forgave you.

Paul reminds us that kindness and compassion pleases the Lord.

If we are truly kind and compassionate, we must not do things that hurt others.

Additionally, Paul reminds us that we must forgive one another.

After all, God has already forgiven us through Christ.

When we pray the Lord’s Prayer, we ask of God: “forgive us our sins, just as we have forgiven those who have sinned against us.”

As human beings, we often find forgiveness difficult.

But the most worthwhile endeavors are rarely successful when we try to do them alone.

The good news is that we do not have to rely on our own strength.

With God’s help, we can learn to forgive others just as we have been forgiven.

We can also learn to be kind and compassionate.

Ironically, the world that we live in believes these are signs of weakness.

But they are really qualities of strength.

And this strength is not of our own making.

Rather, it is an internal strength born of our relationship with the Lord.

A relationship made possible by Christ.

And that same Christ demonstrated both how we should live and how we should treat others.

 

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at https://otherbrotherjim.blogspot.com/ on Friday, May 13, 2022.

I will be back here on Friday, May 20, 2022