RELATIONAL RESTORATION
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.
Colossians 3:12-15 (NLT)
Sometimes, it feels really good to hold a grudge.
Maybe you’re not proud of it. Maybe you wouldn’t even say it as plainly as I just did. But you know deep down that you relish the resentment. You may not even remember every detail of what started the bitterness; you just know that it’s there, and it’s not something you want to release. Sometimes, this is from a series of smaller slights. Other times, we’ve been genuinely wounded in some deep ways. No matter how it started, the truth remains the same: we must move toward forgiveness.
For a Christ follower, forgiveness is not optional. Because of the forgiveness we’ve experienced in Christ, we must forgive others. Paul says in the above passage to make allowance for each other’s faults. The truth is it can be pretty easy to zero in on someone’s (many) faults. But what if we made allowance for them instead of mentally cataloging their every shortcoming? What if we held space for our brothers and sisters in Christ to not be perfect? When we’re able to do so, I believe we’re clothing ourselves in love.
Read verse 12 above one more time. Slowly. Are the words in that list descriptors of you? Merciful? Kind? Humble? Gentle? Patient? Ask God to help you grow in these areas.
APPLICATION: Short, sweet and seemingly simple: who do you need to forgive? I say seemingly simple because to acknowledge that you need to forgive them and then to actually do so are not the same. What step can you take toward forgiveness today?
PRAYER: Lord, help me to forgive as I have been forgiven. Grow within me a desire for harmony, restoration and reconciliation in my relationships. Please help me release any anger, bitterness or grudge I’ve been holding onto. In Jesus’ name, amen.
“… Our Father in heaven…” Matthew 6:9b (NLT)
- What do You want to say to me today as my Father?
“… may Your name be kept holy.” Matthew 6:9c (NLT)
- What do You want to reveal to me about Your power today?
“May Your Kingdom come soon.” Matthew 6:10a (NLT)
- Help me make Your priorities my priorities today.
“Give us today the food we need,” Matthew 6:11 (NLT)
- Is there anything specific You want me to do with my time or the people I’m around today?
“and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us” Matthew 6:12 (NLT)
- Reveal to me anyone I need to forgive or ask for forgiveness.
“And don’t let us yield to temptation…” Matthew 6:13a (NLT)
- Is there anywhere I’m vulnerable to temptation?