The apostle Paul describes positive qualities that should characterize a life that pleases God.
Ephesians 4:32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ, God forgave you. (NIV)
Often as Christ-followers we’ve got the “don’t” part of Christianity down! If Christ has commanded not to do something, we don’t do it. The question remains: do we have the “doing” part clearly expressed in our lives? Christ-followers get the reputation for being negative because our spiritual growth is not reflecting the winsome, attractive, others-oriented character of Christ.
When you “put off” a life-style that displeases God, you’ve got to follow through by “putting on” the character of Christ. But how? God’s Spirit lives within each Christ-follower and one of the Spirit’s functions is to energize you to live like Christ. What does that look like? Being kind: a courteous manner of life that desires the happiness of others; Tender-hearted: a compassionate life that especially cares for the restoration of those who have fallen in the faith; Forgiving one another: if you hesitate in this, pause a moment to consider the rest of the verse: “as . . . Christ has forgiven you”.
Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.comThe “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™