Ephesians 4:31–32 (NKJV)
31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.
32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.
2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV)
17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
When people see you, as a Christian, what do they see? Do they see the old unsaved worldly person? Or do they see the kind, tenderhearted, forgiving person found in Christ?
Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:17 when we accept Christ in our lives God changes us. We are no longer what we were but have been and continue to be changed into what God wants us to be. The believer in Christ has been metamorphosized. The follower of Christ has been changed from the inside out. There is no superficial paint placed upon the Christian experience. The believer’s clothing has changed. No longer is the follower of Christ walking in the spiritual clothing, darkness of the world.
What Paul is writing about in these verses is impossible to live out. Christians are to be kind, gentle, caring, helpful, courteous, good, useful, and giving. Christians live a life opposite of the world. Those “in Christ” have a kindred spirit. Jesus prays in the High Priestly Prayer, “And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was. (John 17:5) Jesus prayed for the Father to glorify Him not so people would see Him, but through His life they would see the father.
Christians MUST live their lives not just to be seen nor heard but to lead others to see and hear Christ in and through their life. IT IS ALL ABOUT JESUS! A person who is a believer, follower of Christ does not live for the world. Christians ARE followers of Christ! All the evil things of this world are done away with, (bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice). Christians are to be “kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another.” Christians live out the love of God daily.