I read day 14, but passed on blogging it.  It was the sabbath.  Really.  (okay, so I read it this morning, okay? so stop with the furrowed brow, critical eye thing, m’kay? *)

So getting back on the horse, here is Day 15:

All bitterness, anger and wrath, insult and slander must be removed from you, along with all wickedness.  And be kind and compassionate for one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you in Christ. — Ephesians 4:31-32 (HCSB)

This is a verse that changed the way I communicated.  I read it first over 8 years ago, and was struck that so much of my communication was wrapped up in bitterness, I often wrote sarcastic insults, or ignorant slander.  It came across completely rude, and looking back I was embarrassed by my tone, and it brought shame not only to my self, but to the Lord.  Which is why we must strain to let go of the old self, and embrace the new self.  Being kind and compassionate, forgiving — those actions are often foreign to us, in our selfishness we want to hold on to our hurt.  That is ultimately harming ourselves.

Yesterday we studied Matt 18:22ff — the parable of the unmerciful servant — and had a really good discussion about forgiveness.  Later that night we had a double dose of forgiveness teaching in our ‘Men are like Waffles — Women are like Spaghetti‘ small group.  It certainly is clear that God forgives us, so we can forgive others.   The study last night had a six step vertical forgiveness process, that showed forgiveness as an act of the will, separated from the act of reconciliation.  Forgiveness is for our benefit, it doesn’t require any action on the other party (reconciliation requires repentance, and I think that’s usually two-sided repentance, since rarely is there harm done in only a singular one action way), it doesn’t require you forget or just let-it-go, instead you need to embrace the hurt a bit, then give it piece by piece to God, placing it in the proper perspective.  He can only forgive others, because God first forgave us.

DAy 14

Whatever you do, do it enthusiastically, as something done for the Lord, and not for me. — Colossians 3:23 (HCSB)