Give Thanks

Ephesians 4:2-3
“ Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”

Give thanks for even them?

We all have them. My children have them too. Each one of us has that one person who “rubs you the wrong way,” who “You just can’t seem to get along with”, or who you “seem to clash with”. I see it every day when my children begin screaming at ear piercing octaves because their brother or sister is doing something to bother them. I feel it when the whining and complaining of three kids might cause an unnatural phenomenon…my ears falling from my head and burying themselves in the solitude of the still earth.

In fact, I have a few more, taller versions, of “those kinds of people” in my life (they shall remain nameless!). Most of the time, it tends to be the person who criticizes instead of encourages; the one who finds fault at every turn; the one who makes me turn around and walk the other direction when they come toward me. I often wonder how I can avoid them, or how I can show them that they are not entirely welcome? My heart will grumble, “If only they could see how rude they are, certainly they would stop this nonsense!” There was a time in my life, (and is still a struggle to this day), that I probably would have blurted out my annoyance, or it could of been just a slight sigh, or a rolling of the eyes, or even a cold indifference.

Yet once again, I will endeavor to show you the Lord’s grace in my life (I will never get away from that merciful theme!). As I was meditating on Ephesians this morning, a similar relationship struggle I was having kept on coming to mind.

With this particular person, I have done my best to pray for an extra dose of grace to keep my mouth shut, when really, I itched to angrily retort to the constant correction and criticism that seemed to flow unceasingly. I have pleaded with the Lord to convict them of their sin- but to no avail from what I have seen. (And no, ladies I am not speaking of my dear husband… In case you were wondering.)

But something the Lord gently, and lovingly opened my eyes to, made me pause as I began my daily plea for this particular grace once more. As I was quietly meditating, I began to realize how sinful my heart is. In fact, this sin is what made me stop myself in my tracks. It is the sin of pride. The root off all sins, the leader of the seven things the Lord hates most. Pride… an abomination to God.You see, if nobody is without sin, as scripture so pointedly states, then neither am I. In fact, Paul even went a step further to say “I am the worst of sinners!” In light of his statement, I can certainly say I am no saint! So then, what should my response be to scripture that says I am to be completely humble and gentle? How do I make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace?

If I am to be compassionate, and to forgive (Eph 4:32), and if Christ so willingly forgave my sin, then surly I could forgive those who sin against me! Ouch… This was beginning to dig deep and hurt. Yet, as I began to be flooded with conviction, I began to give thanks. I thanked the Lord for loving me so much he placed this “frustrating” person in my life, if simply to reveal my sin. It was my sin that was grieving the Lord, not that I was a victim of annoyance. It was for my sin that “he bore the bitter nails that hung him on that judgment tree” as the song is sung. How can I not love and be compassionate in light of this sacrifice.

So I pray that next time I am so easily offended, I will respond with thanks a little quicker- only done by the Lord’s tender mercy and grace. When you see me next, don’t worry. Chances are, I’m probably the one who will unknowingly offend you- and you will have an opportunity to put this thought into practice. But if you do offend me- thank you! You are helping me put sin to death and that will only draw me closer to the Cross.