Ephesians 4:32 (NIV)
“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
I have grown up hearing the phrase “forgive and forget” whenever having been in a conflict with someone who has wronged me and being faced with the issue of forgiveness. In my adult years, I’ve been of the mindset of trying to be slower to anger and more willing to forgive, though often that can be a difficult task.
While the phrase “forgive and forget” is one that I’ve always felt I don’t agree with since due to my scarily good memory or my willful stubborn streak that I inherited from my father, I cannot forget so easily. Nonetheless, I am always willing to forgive and show kindness and compassion to others, but I won’t tell those who have wronged me that I won’t forget.
In thinking of how it can often be difficult to forgive and show kindness and compassion to others, I am reminded of how Lin Manuel Miranda portrays the mindset of Eliza Hamilton in his hit musical Hamilton following the death of her eldest son, Philip. Undoubtedly, she’s angry at the world and her husband, who can be seen as indirectly responsible for the tragedy, but nonetheless, in the musical number “It’s Quiet Uptown”, she forgives him without saying a word and takes hold of his hand as the chorus behind the two sing the lyrics “forgiveness. Can you imagine?”
Initially, I thought that perhaps she was being a bit too forgiving, but looking back on it now, holding onto anger is not a mindset Christ would want us to have. As stated in today’s verse, we should strive to be slower to anger and treat each other a bit more kindly and with more compassion and strive to forgive each other as he forgave us, though that can be a diQicult task sometimes, if there is one message I leave you with from this devotion: it is that the world can benefit from more kindness, this day and every day.
Let us pray:
God, please help us remember to be more forgiving to others as you have been to us, though we may not be worthy of it. May we be slower to anger and quicker to kindness as it is needed now. Amen.
This devotional was written and recorded by Grace Jonas.
Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.
If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.
First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.
