..bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. Colossians 3:13

 

Are you a people person? Do you thrive around groups of people? As it stands now, the world population is around 8 billion people and growing, so you shouldn’t have any issues rubbing shoulders with others. With this fact stated, the truth is people will hurt you, either intentionally or by accident. Sometimes people speak and act before thinking how impactful it is to their audience.   

 

Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering. Colossians 3:12

 

When people offend or hurt you, how do you respond? As a child of God, your reaction is more important than the pain they caused. Sounds backwards, but the truth is your reaction speaks to the Holy Spirit living inside you. Yea, the flesh wants to seek revenge, but you are not guided by the flesh, but by the Spirit (Romans 8:5). Colossians 3:12 provides the spiritual characteristics we are to exhibit when someone hurts us. It’s a hard bullet to bite sometimes, but that’s where the “longsuffering” comes into play.

 

But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection Colossians 3:14

 

Everyday you are in a target rich environment to get hurt or offended. Don’t let the painful actions of others cause you to join in their misguided behavior. Find the love of Christ in your heart to show forgiveness and compassion to those who hurt you. As Jesus hung on the cross, His final words were, “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do”. Let’s live by Jesus’ example today for forgive through longsuffering. God bless!