Colossians 3:12-13
"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."
[Emphasis added]
Recently, I had to repent because I was walking around in offense and quite angry. Someone had failed to do what was expected of them and it caused me delay and frustration; two things I do not like by the way. Offense does two things: One, it prepares your heart to be a breeding ground for bitterness and unforgiveness to sow, fester and replicate over and over. And you know what else? It just makes you feel icky. Merriam Webster's definitions include "to strike against," "to displease," "to make angry," "to do harm to," "to affront," and in Scripture, "to cause to sin". Now, I'm pretty even keeled, and it takes a lot to make me angry, but I've realized that offense and being offended, while not anger at first, is a sneaky state sent by the Devil and a doorway to anger that I generally can avoid by making the choice to not be offended. If I'm offended because of another's actions, I am distracted from operating in the love and forgiveness that Father God instructs me to operate in. If Satan hooks me into offense, He will have succeeded in taking my eyes off Jesus and that just won't do!
In today's passage, the Apostle Paul is speaking to the Colossians about living righteously as the new creations that they now are in Christ. This new nature contributes to and upholds a Christian community marked by peace and strength. While Paul is talking about the community of Believers, since we are Believers, we can apply this to any community in our life. Because we are a new creation, our character is one that is meant to be reflective of Christ and His indwelling Holy Spirit. Offense is not meant to reside in our temples and defile it, i.e. feeling icky. Allegiances to Jesus as Lord must transcend differences and this will result in peace [i.e. harmonious relationships]. Take off the old and put on the new is the core of this entire chapter of Paul teaching the Colossians. Who knows? You might even break out in song!
As new creations in Christ, how can we offer forgiveness to those that have offended us? By clothing ourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience---> extending grace. My friend this is not always an easy thing, and it doesn't mean we are excusing bad behavior, but again it is an action that we can accomplish with the help of Holy Spirit. His indwelling Presence is the only way that we can walk in and extend forgiveness when we are offended or have offended someone. This morning, I unhooked offense from my jaw and showed it the door. BYE, BYE, BYE!!
Takeaways for you to remember.
#1 Being offended is an active choice that we can choose NOT to make.
#2 Extending forgiveness invites peace.
#3 Offense leads to sin, while forgiveness leads to righteousness.
Yours in Christ!
Dr. Quahana
Want to enjoy some of the Scriptures inspiring this entry?
[All Scripture listed is NLT version unless otherwise noted.]
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