Ephesians 4:29
“Let no unwholesome word come out of your mouth, but if there is any good word for edification according to the need of the moment, say that, so that it will give grace to those who hear.”
That last phrase is great, "so that it will give grace to those who hear." This is what God does, He gives grace. Part of what made Chuck Smith a blessing is the he knew and experienced God's grace. He would speak of it often. We attenders yearned for that. The worship would draw us in. In time we were like little chucks and were walking in grace and love. We became like David and say, "My cup overflows." God's love and joy are in us in abundance. We have to share it.
Today's is on that, but also on the forgiving aspect of grace. People may have wronged us. We are to respond in grace. Different situations require a different response. Some times we are to confront and seek to make it right. This is uncomfortable for all, but it is to be done in humility and grace. Other times we encounter rude or selfish people. They aren't consistently in our lives. We do our best not to respond in kind.
We may have those in our lives like the one's Peter was referring to. "Then Peter came up and said to Him, '“Lord, how many times shall my brother sin against me and I still forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy-seven times"', (Matthew 18:21,22). This is more than we can handle. God will empower us and give us wisdom as to how to deal with these.
A wonderful part of being a gracious person is that we reap what we sow. I recall a sermon about this. It involved two pastors, one exacting and the other kind. Each fell on bad times. The exacting one left the church as he wasn't supported, but was dealt with harshly as he himself was harsh. The kind one had an out of control son. Scripture says this one should be demoted, as if one cannot manage ones own family, how can he manage the house of God. The church was behind him with support from all areas. He was merciful and kind with them all, so he reaped this in his hour of need. God instituted the reap what we sow rule. It's an indirect way He blesses those that follow His example and rules.
The immediate context of today's passage is about our speech. We are to edify with our words in such a way that we are giving grace. God gives us love for others. It is born in our hearts. We become loving people with the ability to follow this verse.
When we think of all the meanness in our world, we get overwhelmed. How can we love it? Fortunately, we don't encounter it all. He will put those in our path to love. Some tougher than others. We'll run into difficulty, we'll be distressed, we bring it to God in prayer, He'll use a circumstance to tweak them, us and maybe others. We continue to hold out the olive branch and all of the sudden it's changed, their hearts, our hearts. A miracle. It's not always great, but it often is.
Thank You God for making us like Yourself, loving. What a miracle compared to what we were. You are such a great, wonder working God. Thank You for turning all into love.