“Don’t grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” Eph. 4:30-32
Dear Jesus, it may be a grandmother, possibly a granddaughter, maybe our spiritual parents or one of our three best friends, but we all have someone we would do anything possible not to grieve—that is, to cause sadness, distress, or lament. Intentionally, or innocently, hurting someone’s heart we love isn’t a small thing.
And yet, that’s exactly what we do to you, Jesus, when we allow “bitterness, rage, anger, brawling, slander, and malice” to settle into our hearts, seep into our attitudes, and seethe in our relationships. Truly, to grieve the Holy Spirit is to grieve you, because you live in our hearts by the Spirit. You are that near, and we are that dear to you. We’ll never shock you, cause you to love us less, or incite you to reject us. Hallelujah, that will never happen. But we can grieve you, Jesus, and we want to take that to heart.
The pettiness of your disciples grieved you when they argued about who was the greatest (Mark 10:35-45). It grieved you when Peter tried to keep you from going to the cross (Matt. 16:22-28). It grieved you when Philip, who had walked with you three years, still didn’t realize who you were (John 14:8-9).
When we harbor resentment and linger in bitterness—refusing to do the costly heart-work of kindness, compassion, and forgiving… understandably, it grieves you Jesus (Matt18:21-35). Help us, free us… So Very Amen.