forgiveness

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FORGIVENESS

(Matthew 6:14&15) For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  But if you do not forgive others their sins, you Father will not forgive your sins.

Jesus made it quite clear that we need to forgive others of their sins.  Forgiving is difficult for us.  Even simple things like being cut off in traffic challenge our forgivability, but we must overcome our self-righteous need for revenge.  Forgiving is not optional.

 Beyond the simple things, there are many worse things to challenge our ability to forgive.  I can think of some very horrible sins that seem impossible to forgive. I’ll leave the magnitude of that to your imagination.  Yet, since God forgives “all” of our sins, there seems to be no limitation on which sins we can forgive.

So, let’s talk about family relations and the forgiveness that must take place in these close relationships.  I’m reminded of an old song that stated, “You always hurt the one you love; the one you shouldn’t hurt at all.”  Isn’t it true that those closest to us often take the blunt of our ill moods and self-protective responses.  I know my wife has lots of opportunities to forgive me, and, dare I say, I have a share of opportunities to forgive her.   If we chose not to forgive each other, these sins would build a wall of unforgiveness between us.  This would put our relationship on a downward slide, eventually this could lead to divorce.

From the family outward, the need to forgive becomes obvious.  If we hold unforgiveness in our heart, then it will fester, rob us of relationships, and make us bitter and alone. Our lack of forgiving others hurts us. Understanding this, I can begin to comprehend why Jesus was so adamant about us forgiving one another.

 God loves us and forgives us.  He sent his Son to pay for our sins, so he could forgive us and restore relationship with us.  Forgiveness is God’s way of dealing with sin.  The only alternative is eternal punishment.  God doesn’t want that for any of us.

God is love.  Forgiveness makes room for Love.

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BEING AWARE OF THE SCHEMES OF THE ENEMY

(2Corinthians 2:10&11) Anyone you forgive, I also forgive.  And what I have forgiven – if there was anything to forgive – I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, in order that Satan might not outwit us.  For we are not unaware of his schemes.

Why is there so much hostility in the world even among God’s children?  The answer is twofold: humans have a sinful nature, and the lies of a scheming enemy. It is our sinful nature that the enemy uses to taunt us – seeking to lead us into evil.  How do we fight against this?

 Jesus taught us how to overcome our sinful nature and the lies of the enemy.  Being humble before our God is the way to start.  When we recognize that without Jesus, we can do nothing; it sets us in that humble place.  We were created to be in close relationship with our creator. We were not created to stand alone.  God is for us, not against us.  In this, we humbly surrender our pride to access the tools God has given us.

One of the most important lesson Jesus taught us is to forgive one another. He has forgiven us; he, therefore, instructs us to be forgiving, as he is forgiving. If we truly forgive each other, the enemy has nothing to use to keep us at odds.  Taking the humble position, not holding on to an offence, and rebuking the enemy when he tries to remind us of the offence, gives us a victory over our sinful nature and the enemy’s schemes. 

Forgiving and forgetting an offence is not easy.  We can’t do it alone; We need Jesus and the Holy Spirit to help us. Think about it.  Isn’t this how we walk in the Spirit and not in the flesh?  The victory is ours if we humbly trust Jesus and do what he taught us to do.

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THE PRICE OF PEACE

(John 14:27) Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.  I do not give to you as the world gives.  Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

(Philippians 4:6&7) Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Peace comes with a price.  The first thing we will need to give up is pride.  The pride of self-reliance does not produce peace.  It produces stress. When difficulties come, there is no one to help, and we realize we are on our own.  Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).  To find peace, we must give up our pride and admit we need Jesus.

Secondly, we must forgive.  Holding on to our right to be offended means we are the ones suffering.  Unforgiveness feeds on its self and weighs us down.  Letting go and forgiving sets us free and allows us be at peace.

Jesus holds the key to peace, and his word tells us how to find it.  Here are a few example

Do not worry; trust God for everything you need and in every situation.

            Forgive as you have been forgiven.

            Do not judge each other, but love one another.

            Love your enemies, and pray for them.

            Don’t concern yourself with treasures on earth.

            You should humble yourself and Pray.

The peace Jesus gives us does not rely on our circumstances.  His peace is founded in our reliance on him, no matter what our circumstances might be.  I guess we can conclude that when we have totally given ourselves to him, we’ll be able to continually experience the peace he gives us. 

I’m still working on completely giving myself to Jesus, but I am often able to find his peace.  How are you doing?