“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32, New International Version).
This daily devotional for women turns to Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, a short but pointed instruction on how believers are called to treat one another. The verse pairs two ideas on purpose: kindness and forgiveness. One rarely holds up without the other.
What This Verse Means
Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus about the kind of community God wanted his people to build, one marked by compassion instead of bitterness. The verse does not present kindness as a personality trait some people simply have and others don’t. It presents it as a response, something modeled directly on how God forgave believers through Christ.
A related verse in 1 Peter puts it this way: “Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble” (1 Peter 3:8, NIV). Peter was writing to a scattered, often struggling community of believers, and he named compassion alongside humility and sympathy as everyday marks of a shared faith, not occasional acts reserved for dramatic moments.
Another translation of the Ephesians passage renders it as being “tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32, English Standard Version). The word “tenderhearted” adds something the word “kind” can miss on its own: a softness that notices pain in others before being asked to.
Living It Today
Compassion rarely shows up as a grand gesture. More often it looks like patience with a coworker having a hard week, grace for a friend who canceled plans again or choosing not to hold a grudge against a family member who hurt you. Ephesians 4:32 ties that daily kindness directly to forgiveness, because it’s hard to stay tenderhearted toward someone you’re still keeping score with.
For women balancing work, family, friendships and the quiet pressures that come with all three, compassion can feel like one more demand on an already full day. Scripture frames it differently. It is a way of moving through ordinary interactions, treating people the way God has already treated the believer.
Scripture also offers women models of this kind of compassion. Abigail stepped in to keep the peace and fed David’s men, Ruth refused to leave her grieving mother-in-law, and Tabitha was so known for her good works that a whole community mourned her. Compassion International’s six-day YouVersion reading plan, “Becoming a Compassionate Woman”, walks through their stories and others. Their examples serve as a reminder that compassion is something practiced over time, not mastered overnight.
Reflection Questions
Where in your life this week have you withheld kindness because someone hurt you first?
Who in your circle — a coworker, a neighbor, a family member — could use a tenderhearted response from you today instead of a defensive one?
What would it look like to forgive someone the way you understand God has forgiven you?
A Prayer for Today
Lord, soften the places in my heart that have grown hard from hurt or impatience. Teach me to see the people around me the way you see them, worthy of kindness even when it’s not easy to give. Help me forgive as freely as I’ve been forgiven and let compassion shape how I speak, listen and respond today. Amen.
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