~Be Ye Kind~

“And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.”

—Ephesians 4:32

This verse has been a part of me for many years. I learned it in Sunday school or junior church as a song when I was very small. I guess you could say that I’ve almost been flippant with this verse, singing it many times, quoting it to siblings (hmmm…that probably wasn’t very kind…), and teaching it to various children over the years, but never really pausing to meditate on it.

In recent months, God has called upon me to be forgiving to someone. We all have someone to forgive, don’t we? But in my hurt I’ve failed to always be as kind as I ought to be. I was walking down the street yesterday, and God brought this verse to my mind, quite out of the blue. (Isn’t it wonderful how God works?) As I mulled over this verse, truly thinking about it, I pondered the fact that kindness and forgiveness were commanded in the same sentence. Did they have any relation to each other? I do believe so.

So, is kindness easy? Well, no. Not always. Even when there is no hurt involved, the flesh steps in and we can be unkind!

Is forgiveness easy? No. But God has called His children to both.

For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

—Hebrews 4:12