...Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one
another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you. Ephesians 4:32
When the Holy Spirit comes to clean
house, He brings His own supplies. Our personal efforts to clean ourselves up
were a pitiful failure. Our fixer-upper hearts don’t
look much better, even after all our best efforts at self-improvement. What we
thought was improvement turned out to be pride, legalism, and selfishness.
Fortunately, God doesn’t
just strip us of everything bad. He replaces the bad with good. When he peels
off the old character flaws, he adds His own character. When he sands off the
bitterness, He uses forgiveness as a tool. The harsh words, anger, and slander
are filed away and made smooth with tenderheartedness and sensitivity to God
and others. When the junk has been carted away, He then fills our hearts with
love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and
self-control (Gal. 5:22).
And He shows us how to use these new tools. When we want to lash out at
someone, He quietly reminds us of how much we have been forgiven by Him. When
we try to pout, He offers peace and joy instead. Only the Holy Spirit can
redecorate our hearts the way He likes them so that He enjoys being there.
We are all fixer-uppers. How is your
life-remodeling project coming along?
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