Be gentle to all

Bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. (Colossians 3:13, ESV)

“If my brother offends me, how many times shall I forgive him?” someone once asked Jesus, before offering a hopeful guess. “Seven times?” “No, seventy times seven!” was Jesus’ reply. In other words, we should never stop forgiving.

Now that’s love! And Jesus wasn’t just talking about lovingly and patiently forgiving our siblings, spouses, or close friends, but also overbearing bosses and co-workers, wayward subordinates, and cantankerous neighbours, anyone and everyone, in fact. This is so contrary to human nature that such loving patience could only come from God Himself.

Hasn’t God forgiven you “seventy times seven”? Doesn’t that make you want to extend that same love and mercy and forgiveness to others, so they can also come to know Him and experience His forgiveness?

“Love suffers long and is [still] kind.” “A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition.” [1]

Many people are afraid to forgive because they feel they must remember the wrong or they will not learn from it. The opposite is true. Through forgiveness, the wrong is released from its emotional stranglehold on us so that we can learn from it. Through the power and intelligence of the heart, the release of forgiveness brings expanded intelligence to work with the situation more effectively. - David and Bruce McArthur

[1] Activated Longsuffering—The Conciliatory Fruit