Forgiveness

Ephesians 4:32 "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ, God forgave you."

My daughter came home a few weeks ago upset that a child in another classroom had called her names.  While my first instinct as her mother was to reassure her and downplay the harsh words that were thrown at her, I also knew that I needed to teach her in that moment about forgiveness.  As a 6 year old, it is hard to understand how boys may call you names and act mean towards you because they secretly like you.  Yet I wanted her to understand that just because this little boy called her mean names didn't mean that she couldn't be nice to him.  So I told her that the next time he called her those names to respond, "God made me beautiful just like I am."  I also told her to make sure and not act mean toward him in return but to continue to share with him about how God made her beautiful.
While this may be a simple illustration, I believe it is somewhat fitting to what God wanted to convey in Ephesians 4:32.  If I asked you to think back on a time where someone said something upsetting to you or about you, I am sure that it wouldn't take you long to remember a time and how painful that might have been.  Were your words filled with kindness and compassion?  Now think about a time where you might have said something upsetting about someone else!  Think how painful that may have been for him/her.
Life is filled with circumstances where one can choose the path of kindness and compassion.  On the occasions where we find ourselves on a different path, God tells us to "forgive" each other just as God forgave you.   Forgive means to pardon freely.  Whoa!  God wants me to "pardon freely" that person that hurt me?  Yes.  God wants me to "pardon freely" the person who said unkind things about me?  Yes.  Our motive should be "just as in Christ, God forgave you."  In reading a commentary on Ephesians, I came across this: "God's forgiveness towards us is free; it precedes even our repentance, and is the cause of it. It is exercised despite the number and enormity of our sins, and the long period of time we have sinned our sins. He forgives us far more than we can ever be called on to forgive others. God forgives us in Christ. Out of Christ, he is, in virtue of his holiness and justice, a consuming fire; but in him, he is long-suffering, abundant in mercy, and ready to forgive."  


Is there someone in your life that needs your forgiveness?  Is there someone that you have held a grudge against or expunged from your life because they said hurtful words to you or about you?  Pray that God would reveal the person or people to you so that you can begin the journey to freely pardon them just as God forgave you.