A short and concise thought on forgiveness. The one act that most people don’t want to hear about.

As the elect of God…forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you– Colossians 3:12-13

How must God’s elect respond to God’s gift of salvation to them? How should those who have been themselves forgiven every offense behave, then, towards others?

Paul makes a very serious connection between the forgiveness that Christians have in Christ and the forgiveness that believers ought to practice themselves. “Even as Christ forgave you,” Paul says, you ought to forgive — with the same unconditional and complete absolution.

To what extent does the command apply? If any one has anything against any one! We cannot claim that anyone is too insignificant, or that any offense is too significant, for us to forgive.

Weren’t we insignificant in relation to God, when he forgave us? Weren’t our trespasses against him constant and enormous? And yet God was gracious. Even so, we are told, we are to show patience and forgiveness wherever we go and with whoever we come in contact.

Are you aware of the greatness of God’s grace to you? Are you aware of how utterly undeserving you are of his continued forgiveness? If you are, then there should be no hesitance on your part to reflect God’s goodness, even to the most unpleasant and abusive of people.