Ephesians 4:32
“Be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.”
We are to be kind, compassionate and forgiving. Why? Because God was and is all those things to us. We have a tendency to be blind to ourselves. Jesus points this out in Matthew 7:3, "Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?" We a not just a little unaware, but a lot. We obsess over a speck in another's eye, but can't see the log in ours. That is a ridiculous comparison. It's so extreme that it's a funny picture.
This poor vision on our part is described in the beatitude, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven", (Matthew 5:3). We are all poor in spirit, the trouble is we don't realize it. The blessedness comes when we know it. The one poor in spirit knows that our ability to see our issues is limited and that our sense of seeing other's issues is highly sensitive. The blessed person is aware of the great debt that God paid on our account, so of course we should be kind and forgive. He did it for us.
We can be confident in our situation, but not in ourselves. When it comes to ourselves, Jesus shared what our attitude should be in Luke 18:13, "But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to raise his eyes toward heaven, but was beating his chest, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner.'"
In Romans 7:19 Paul describes what it's like to continue to live with our sinful flesh. "or I do not do the good I want to do. Instead, I keep on doing the evil I do not want to do." The one poor in spirit sees this and is frustrated. Thank God He is merciful and forgiving.
Help us to love and forgive others. Help us to shed the critical part that is so hard on others. This is skewed. We are doing the same things that frustrate us about them. This isn't enough to generate love and compassion. We have to cry out to Him to help us.
He answers this prayer and gives us that love. It's one of and the most significant fruits of the Spirit. It's the natural outcome of being a christian plugged in to Him. Just as an apple tree produces apples, so a christian loves.
Thank You, God, for giving us eyes to see our shortcomings as well as giving us love for others. Simply amazing. You take us critical ones and make us loving. Thank You.