S - Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves , you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other's faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.
O - I've been in this passage for over a month and never did I realize how many areas of my life I was still in control of. Here are some things I've learned:
*at the point of salvation I was justified. I am holy chosen and dearly loved. I don't work to be these things I am these things because of Christ in me.
*because Christ is in me now I'm listening to the holy spirit to be sanctified every day to become more like Christ in the virtues of compassion kindness humility gentleness forgiveness and patience. I have to allow the Spirit to chisel off the virtues that are human nature so I can get to Christ's virtues.
A - I struggle of course with all the virtues but 2 stand out and I was surprised that these are the 2 that struck me the most. FORGIVENESS and KINDNESS. I've learned through the Word that I'm to be ready to forgive before reconciliation or an apology on the other person's part because those two things may never happen! In my forgiveness I've got to look at my heart first and see where I'm off base and where I need to be forgiven.
Kindness - true kindness comes from a heart that is overflowing with Jesus. Kindness isn't just a nice shallow compliment. When I'm full of Him I can't help but look at others before myself and see their needs and want to be there to meet them.
P - Please pray for my forgiving heart. I've struggled a lot this summer and when it comes down to it it's my selfishness. It's been difficult for me to lay down my desires and not resent others for the good they've been able to experience. I wish I didn't have to be so vague but our controls are still messed up and I can't make this private. I get to a point that I feel like I've forgiven and then I start dwelling on the circumstances again. The hardest part is that the other people involved aren't aware of the hurt I've experienced and it's really not their fault. So pray for my heart and mind. Love y'all!
Karlyn, I'm praying for you. I also understand how you are feeling about the hurt part. I'm going to keep trying to see how I can make it private too. Its so hard not share everything but I really don't want the "whole" world see to read my deepest thoughts and convictions.
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