The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Ephesians 4:31-32,
"Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you."
Here is an interesting observation. We are to forgive one another just as God has forgiven us. In painting a picture for us as to what a life lived worthy of the invitation we have received from God, 4:1, Paul presents us with the manifold aspects of taking off the sinful "old" person we used to be and to put on the "new" person, "created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness." Verse 24.
My experience is that these kinds of passages seem to be almost universally ignored by so many of us believers. How many fellow believers do you know are given to what Paul asks of here in this chapter? (How about you and me?) Not many I suspect. A precious few to be sure. We find much of the same material in Colossians 3:12-14, "Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity." Another passage we seem to "skip" over in our Bible reading. I don't think I'm being overly cynical here, just honest. We seem to pick and choose what we feel is important in Scripture and ignore the rest.
But... I digress. Paul says to forgive others as God has forgiven us. Just what does God's forgiveness look like? When we forgive others (a rarity in my observation) we often hold something in reserve. "Cross me once, shame on you, cross me twice, shame on me." Does God hold something "in reserve" against us when he forgives us our sins? What we are told is astonishing to me. In chapter 1, verse 4 Paul tells us that God chose to hold us "holy and blameless" in his sight. He decided this before he even created the world that his forgiveness would reach this far! In Jude's wonderful doxology we read, "To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy..." Jude 24. "Without fault"!
This isn't because we haven't had any. God has chosen to forgive us as though we had never done anything wrong! Amazing to me...!
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.
"Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you."
Here is an interesting observation. We are to forgive one another just as God has forgiven us. In painting a picture for us as to what a life lived worthy of the invitation we have received from God, 4:1, Paul presents us with the manifold aspects of taking off the sinful "old" person we used to be and to put on the "new" person, "created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness." Verse 24.
My experience is that these kinds of passages seem to be almost universally ignored by so many of us believers. How many fellow believers do you know are given to what Paul asks of here in this chapter? (How about you and me?) Not many I suspect. A precious few to be sure. We find much of the same material in Colossians 3:12-14, "Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity." Another passage we seem to "skip" over in our Bible reading. I don't think I'm being overly cynical here, just honest. We seem to pick and choose what we feel is important in Scripture and ignore the rest.
But... I digress. Paul says to forgive others as God has forgiven us. Just what does God's forgiveness look like? When we forgive others (a rarity in my observation) we often hold something in reserve. "Cross me once, shame on you, cross me twice, shame on me." Does God hold something "in reserve" against us when he forgives us our sins? What we are told is astonishing to me. In chapter 1, verse 4 Paul tells us that God chose to hold us "holy and blameless" in his sight. He decided this before he even created the world that his forgiveness would reach this far! In Jude's wonderful doxology we read, "To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy..." Jude 24. "Without fault"!
This isn't because we haven't had any. God has chosen to forgive us as though we had never done anything wrong! Amazing to me...!
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.
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