The Mirror of the Word and other works by C.E. White can be purchased on her website, cewhitebooks.com or on Amazon

“All bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and slander must be removed from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.”

—Ephesians 4:31–32

We can probably look at this list and determine which direction we trend.

It’s easy to be bitter, wrathful, angry, and slanderous. Those things arise from our desires, our ideas of what is right and fair, and what we believe we deserve.

But kindness, compassion, and forgiveness can only be achieved by abiding in Jesus Christ. They don’t come naturally and will not happen without us putting firm intention into living them out.

This requires thoughtful response rather than impulsive reaction. It requires dealing with hurts by loving our enemies rather than simply expecting not to be wronged.

Many situations in this world could make us bitter and angry, but we’re called to live in kindness and forgiveness regardless. If we’re living this way when nothing happens to be bothering us, there is no reward (Matthew 5:46). We’re to do it in the midst of chaos, injustice, and pain, just as Jesus did.

“Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). Jesus said this while still in the throes of a torturous death.

To us, it looks very much like those people knew what they were doing, but Jesus knew they were deceived.

We wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers (Ephesians 6:12); those who we feel deserve our bitterness and wrath are blinded by those powers.

We’re to be kind and forgiving and not let our hearts be hardened. Our compassionate forgiveness can show others the power and love of Christ.

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