And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ also forgave you. —Ephesians 4:32
Devotion:
Some Christians are not nice; some cannot even be civil. Many times people try to communicate with their spouses, or with others, but that communication is blocked by a cold and icy wall of resentment, which is the memory in the soul of some previous hurt or slight or wound of some sort. That resentment acts like a thermometer that measures within each one of us the level, the degree, of our lack of forgiveness. Paul tells us, however, in this chapter to be tenderhearted, forgiving one another even as God, for Christ’s sake, has forgiven us. We are called to forgive, even as we have been forgiven.
Think of all that God has given us—pardon, forgiveness, provision, and adoption into the family of God, care for all of your needs, and the promise that one day we will be with Him forever in paradise.
When we consider God’s gifts to us, it is easier to look kindly on others. When we remember what God has forgiven us for, it is easier to forgive one another. When we consider God’s kindness to us, it is easier to be kind to each other.
Question to ponder: How can we develop the heart of Christ toward people around us? | 
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