From the Pastor's Pen

Dear friends,

When I was a young person, my dad gave me a folk guitar.  It wasn’t anything special. I think he picked it up at K Mart because I had been asking for a guitar.  I learned a few chords and was off and running, singing songs I’d learned at church camp and girl scout camp.  Soon, however, I was looking for new music and picked up a book of scripture songs.  They were very simple and were clearly written to help the musician memorize the scriptures!  It worked.  I still find those songs flitting through my brain from time to time.  The one that has been playing in my head this last week is from Ephesians 4:32.  The song I learned was in the King James Version of the Bible, so that’s how I remember it.

“Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.”

I really liked this verse.  Sometime in college I picked up a poster with just the beginning of this Bible verse on it.  The poster had a little girl sitting in a field.  She had picked a flower and was giving it to a little bunny sitting in front of her.  (I know.  Totally unrealistic, but it captured my heart.)  The words beneath the photo read, “Be Kind.”  That’s all it said and then had the verse reference from Eph. 4:32.  I took the poster with me to seminary after college and again took it with me to my first church and pinned it up in my office.

I think those words are good for all seasons of life.  We are invited to remember that God has forgiven us much… so much.  God has been kind to us.  So we, also, are invited to be kind and tenderhearted towards others.

I wish I could find a recording of the song I learned as a child.  I suppose it wasn’t much musically.  But here’s a nice recording of this verse.  Listen and give thanks for God’s kindness to you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-rIt_RE9mM

Peace,

Pr. Sally