"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 whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity." (Colossians 3:12-14)
I think all of us, at some time, have heard a well-meaning loved one tell us that we need to toughen up and look out for ourselves or we're going to get hurt. It's a concept that runs deep in our world today. An eye for an eye. You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours. All that glitters isn't gold. In this get-ahead culture, we feel as though we need a thick skin to survive. Forgiveness is hard to come by. And this attitude doesn't just dictate how we deal with the people "out there". It creeps into our closest relationships. Half of the love advice I've heard urges me to only give so many chances, and try not to let anyone get too close. You never know who you can really trust. In all honesty, it's true. The world is twisted by sin, and we humans are experts at hitting each other where it hurts.
Given the events of the past couple months, it is more tempting than ever for me to buy into this bitterness. I am a passionately emotional person. My natural tendency is to show compassion and kindness. I love deeply and trust without question. When people take advantage of that it hurts, but I usually recover quickly. Then recently, for the first time in my life, one of the people closest to my heart exhibited astounding callousness. Recovery has been slow, and agonizing. Sometimes it seems like becoming cold and remote is the only way I'll survive, but then I realize that behavior is what hurt me in the first place. They bought into the idea that being distant is the smart thing to do, and people need to be a certain way to earn your love. This is not God's way. God tells us to be humble. He tells us to be patient with each other. He fills our stores with His own love when we feel like we have no more to give. Most importantly, God tells us to forgive as we have been forgiven. Think of all the times you have failed God. Think of the grace and salvation that is still limitlessly given to you. No matter how much grace I show to others, it will never amount to the grace I've been shown by my Heavenly Father.
Let God's forgiveness and love be an example in your own life. Don't let your pain become your sword and armour, let it become your witness.
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