Be Stronger - Forgive


Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
(Colossians 3:13)

For me, forgiving someone when I’ve been wronged is a hard thing to do. I know I’m supposed to but it’s difficult when a hurt goes deep. The real problem is, unlike God, I can’t forget even when I do forgive. Every time I’m reminded of a past offense, I have to forgive the offender all over again. Unfortunately, I have a very good memory for those past wrongs, so they pop into my head all too often.
Conversely, I conveniently forget every terrible thing I’ve ever done to other people. My transgressions were not only against those I hurt but against God. When I break someone’s heart here on earth, I am breaking his heart in heaven. When I let someone down here, I let him down in heaven. It’s impossible to keep the people I hurt separate from how I hurt God.
When I was born again, I asked God to forgive my past sins against him and he was faithful to do so. After that, he is faithful to forgive me every time I fail him, when I ask. He had many more reasons not to forgive me than I could ever have against anyone else. If he can pardon me for everything I’ve done, I can forgive something done to me. Besides, it’s not a request, it’s a command. He doesn’t say, forgive if you feel like. He just says, forgive, period.
Jesus had the greatest of grievances against his disciples. They all deserted him on the night he was betrayed but he forgave them. When he was hanging on the cross, he asked the Father to forgive those who were persecuting him because they didn’t know what they were doing. If I want to be anything like Jesus, which is supposed to be my goal as a Christian, I must forgive just as he forgave me.







Heavenly Father, you are an amazing God. You hold all the authority of the universe in your mighty right hand and yet, you freely forgive anyone with a contrite and repentant heart. You do not withhold your forgiveness based on how awful the sin is. Lord we ask for that same spirit of forgiveness in our hearts. Give us a heart like yours to make it as easy to forgive anyone who hurts us as it was easy for you to forgive us. Remind us that we have as much to forgive as anyone who might have hurt us. It’s normal behavior, in secular society, to hold a lifelong grudge against anyone who dares to cause us pain. We are almost encouraged to retaliate against our antagonists. You have set us apart to be an example to this hate filled world. Show us a different way to behave, Lord. Not as the world behaves but as Jesus. Thank you for forgiving us our many sins against you. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen!
Location: Kendall, NY 14476, USA

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