The Heart Attitudes: Part 5Sample

Clear Up Relationships Ephesians 4:31-32, “All bitterness, anger and wrath, shouting and slander must be removed from you, along with all malice. And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you in Christ.” Ephesians 4:1-2, “Therefore, I, the prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk worthy of the calling you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, accepting one another in love,” Colossians 3:1, “accepting one another and forgiving one another if anyone has a complaint against another. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you must also forgive.” The things the Apostle Paul says we should get rid of in the above verses are the usual responses when we have been offended by someone. Verse 31 is a natural progression of the damage we find in relationships when an offense has occurred. Left unchecked, the damage will be extended by the normal response by the offended party. Our response as believers is to be different. We are to be kind and compassionate to one another. We try to be tenderhearted and sympathetic. We let go of the offense through the act of forgiving the other party. This kind of response can be healing in relationships. In the first part of Ephesians 4, we are told to walk worthy of the calling of the Lord. We are to walk in a manner that brings honor to Him. We can do that by being humble. We can be humble when we remember how God forgave us when we did not deserve it. We can be gentle because the Lord was and is gentle in His dealings with us. He could have crushed us for our sins but kept His wrath under control so that we might seek His forgiveness. He calls us to be patient with others like He is patient with us when we grieve or offend Him. We are to accept one another because we know that we, too, have our faults and sins that show up in the relationship. The key is that all of these are done in love. Love for the Father and love for the other person. Forgiving others is not easy. It does not come naturally to most. Yet, when we forgive others, we are saying that we value the relationship more than being right.