“…God intends for us to ‘share’ His gifts… with each other…”

The Apostle Paul tells us in his letter to the Ephesians to… Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ…  God forgave you.  Ephesians 4:31-32

So… what does this mean to us common folks?  If we harbor ill-will towards someone… anyone… then we are flirting with the evil one.  Why?  Because we are self-destructive.  We are hell-bent on destroying God’s gift to us… His Image.  Together with… the gift of His Image… He gave us His demeanor, His compassion, His respect…and… His LOVE.  He also gave us His ability to FORGIVE… those who have ‘trespassed against us.’

While it is clear… that He intended for us to use it (these gifts) for His Honor and His Glory… it is also clear… that when we put these gifts to work in our daily lives… then, we are living as an extension of His Son, Jesus Christ.  We are Christ-like.  We are just as God intended.

If we fail to love one another; if we fail to be compassionate; if we fail to be respectful; if we fail to live according to His will… if we fail to FORGIVE… then we are living as satan lives.  We are satanlike.

The crazy idea that this applies to ‘just the spiritual world,’ that is to say… being nice on Sunday; supporting the church; loving only those people who are ‘just like us’….no… no…NO.  God expects us to be Christ-like in every aspect of our life.  Our business life; our social life; our leisure time; our family time… and yes, of course… our spiritual time.  Twenty-four-seven.  24/7.

If we allow ourselves to build up ANGER… it will ‘boil over’… affecting every aspect of our life.  Anger is a sickness; which cannot go untreated; otherwise… we will eventually die from it.  Anger is TOXIC.  If we let anger take over our lives, then we are giving into satan.  Simply said; satan wants us to be in hell… with him; and his angry helpers.  Anger and hate hinder our relationship with God.

The antidote for anger… is LOVE.  Love is forgiveness.  Love is being respectful.  Love is being compassionate.  Love is being prayerful.  Love is being Christ-like.  God intends for us to ‘share’ His gifts… with each other.

God Bless us all…as each… of us seek to be ‘more forgiving.’ …cjlb… 6/5/2018