“An eye for an eye” or so the thinking goes. “A tooth for a tooth”, seems to be a fair and just punishment, right? Someone says something offensive to us and we respond in kind. We react with harshness and with a cutting remark. We treat them as we feel we are being treated.
But what if?  What if we responded differently? What if we returned good for evil instead? What if every time we were hurt by someone else we responded in love? A heart that is full of the Lord’s  forgiveness has no need to retaliate or lash out. A heart of true forgiveness leads others by loving example. People who say mean things are usually hiding inner pain to begin with so why respond to them by hurting them more? They will learn to love when they experience it from others. God’s grace shows us how to overcome personal offences and attacks and helps us to remember the benevolence of His forgiveness in our own lives. Our refusal to take personal offense by instantly forgiving others show that God is at work in our lives. Maturity in Christ isn’t always measurable but our reaction to others sure reveals a great deal about our own hearts.

Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else. 1 Thessalonians 5:15