Day 27
Thursday, April 1
The Way Through Offense
What are you building with? I remember at 10 years old being a new kid in a new neighborhood looking to make new friends. I was expecting to build friendships at the playground, but I ended up getting bullied and chased away. The bullying caused me to build a barrier, kind of like a fence of offense. We live in a nation where it seems like it’s easier to put up fences of offenses rather than forge meaningful friendships. Why is that? The materials are cheap. Offenses are easy to come by. You can practically find them anywhere you look.
What these fences have a way of doing is keeping us closed off, not just from people but essentially from God too. So, how do we navigate through our day when there are so many opportunities for offenses around us?
Could it be that, through God, the very thing that we used to build barriers...He can build a bridge with? The way through offense is kindness. Paul challenged and charged the church of Ephesus in how to properly deal with offenses. He writes this in Ephesians 4:32; “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”By showing kindness, we are able to show the forgiveness of God that we have been shown to others. Forgiveness is what will tear down fences and break through barriers. The next time you are faced with a decision on what you should build with, build with kindness.
-Jay Recto
Bible Reading for the Day:
Think and Act:
1. What are some of the reasons why someone would choose to build a “fence of offense” rather than choosing to be kind?
2. Find someone who you need to ask/give forgiveness. Respond in kindness.