Weekly Word Archives

One Another Series

Be Kind to One Another

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This is the result of a challenge issued by a very godly, older man who has been in the ministry for 40 years. He challenged us to do a study in the New Testament of the “one another” passages. I did that study and came up with quite a list of ways God calls us to relate to each other. The study made a real impact in my life and I hope that it will in yours as well. I would encourage you to look up the Scriptures in your Bible and see how God may want you to apply them to your circumstances in life.

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other just as in Christ God forgave you. Ephesians 4:32

In addition to forgiveness, there are two more "one anothers" in that verse. To me this verse summarizes the attitude and action of the Christian. If there is one verse to memorize which epitomizes the Christian life, it is this one.

First, there is the idea of being kind. It is a goodness of heart, being gracious and pleasant. This word is used to describe God in Luke 6:5b.

…and you will be sons of the Most High, because He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.

God’s kindness extends even to the ungrateful and wicked. We see God’s kindness extended to each of us as believers, as in Ephesians 2:6-7.

And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages He might show the incomparable riches of His grace, expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

God expresses His kindness to us personally through Jesus. Have you ever thought of God’s character in the way He is described in these two verses? Kindness is a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22) and part of the demonstration of love (I Corinthians 13:4).