There’s no doubt that sooner rather than later, more often than not, you and I will need to forgive others. Something will be said, we will be offended or, worse, someone will hurt us in unspeakable ways.
We often get frustrated with our lack of forgiveness towards others. One day we feel we can, while another day we feel we never could. One day we can look at someone, while another day we can’t bear the thought of them. Forgiveness gains ground in our heart and then loses that ground. Back and forth we go. It’s important to understand, though, that in whatever area of our heart we hold resentment and grudges and refuse to forgive, that area will whither and die. On the other hand, if we forgive we will live.
Forgive in order to live.
Our forgiveness cannot be partial
When God forgives our sins, He forgives all of our sins. His forgiveness is not partial, it’s total. The sins of my past are covered by the blood of Jesus Christ. Proverbs 10:12 says, “Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses.” If love completely covers an offense and God totally covers our sin, then the forgiveness we extend to others must also be total and not partial. We must bury our resentment in forgiveness and God will resurrect our heart in joy.
Our forgiveness cannot be unspoken
On the cross, Jesus uttered these words: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34) Here was Jesus’ prayer expressing His desire. You and I cannot open our mouths in prayer until we have opened our mouths in forgiveness. It is not enough to assume that someone knows you’ve forgiven them. It’s worse to pretend that nothing happened. Forgiveness cannot remain unspoken. It must find its way from our hearts to our mouths.
Our forgiveness cannot be momentary
For those of us who struggle with forgiveness, the transformation may not be overnight. Reconciliation may take longer than we imagined. But the grace of God at work in our hearts empowers us to daily forgive others and walk in newness of strength, love and even joy. Forgiveness is a promise made today, and kept tomorrow. God’s forgiveness towards us in Jesus Christ is forever, eternal. So, we must forgive forever, refusing to pick up a favorite offense we have. We must lift from others the burden of offense they rightly are carrying. We must say through our forgiveness, “You don’t need to carry that anymore.” Why? Jesus carried our cross for us.
Forgive in order to live.
“Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.” (1 Peter 4:8)
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