April 24

When we have gone forward, clean in God’s eyes by the purging of the dishonor that is our proclivity as mere mortals, we discover the basis of the truth regarding the process we have allowed within our own dark hearts.

In Ephesians 4:32, Paul states it thusly: “Become useful and helpful to one another, be tenderhearted and forgive freely as God in Christ forgave you.” This speaks to the great gulf that exists between unrepentant man and God. It was created by our sin and resulted in our separation from Him.

Jesus came to bridge that vast expanse that no man on his own can traverse. Because Jesus sacrificed Himself for our cleansing, we can be forgiven of the sin that interjects itself between us and the eyes of God that cannot look upon sin. As HE forgave us, we must forgive others. He is not hardened against us because of our sin.

Jesus is tenderhearted and His love compelled Him to spend Himself in our behalf. If we indeed wish to be useful to His Kingdom’s purposes, we must have His mind—which laid His deity aside and His tender heart, which emanates infinite love—so we can go forward to serve Him by demonstrating His salvation through love and forgiveness to those whose lives touch ours.