阅读经文 

在这个早已秩序颠倒的世代，我们很容易便会动怒和对人失去耐性。人们行事为人充满愤恨和苦毒；在看新闻时，我们不禁摇头失望和感到困惑沮丧。

保罗在以弗所书四章所说的，颇能引起我们的共鸣。他在初期教会也看到和经历到人们同样的表现。他的话挑战我们要活出神呼召我们去过的丰盛生命。藉着耶稣，神已经把一切的恩福赐给我们，好叫我们行事为人能与蒙召的恩相称。在这章圣经中，保罗教导我们为人要温厚、宽容和仁慈，他强调我们必须坚守这样的生活方式。

恩慈与怜悯是密切相关的。我们蒙召要去关怀我们周围的人，懂得怎样去鼓励和帮助他们。如果我们展开一点想像力，想想我们可以带给别人多少益处：“今天我当怎样做来让别人的生命更有价值呢？”这是关乎彼此之间的关系，而在我们生命中，我们与神的关系更是最为重要的。

在效法基督时，我们知道，对信徒来说，恩慈不是可有可无的，它乃是神呼召我们必须如此去做的。当我们全心全意以恩慈相待时，我们就是在对神表达感恩了。

In a world that has felt upside down for a while, it has become easy to get grumpy and less patient with others. Feelings of bitterness and unforgiveness have marked people's behaviors, and when we read the news, we shake our heads wondering.

The words of Paul in Ephesians 4 strike a chord with us. He knew and experienced the same kinds of behaviors in the early church. His words challenge us to live fully into who God has called us to be. God has given us every gift through Jesus so that we can walk in a manner worthy of our calling. As Paul instructs us in this chapter to be tenderhearted, forgiving, and kind, he emphasizes that we must keep on living this way.

Kindness and compassion go hand in hand. We are called to be aware of others around us and how we might encourage and help. Think of all the good we can do if we simply imagine, "How can I add value to someone else's life today?" It's about relationships, and our relationship with God is the most important one in life.

As we imitate Christ, we learn that kindness is not optional for believers. It is a call to obedience. When we live fully in kindness to one another, we are saying thank-you to God.