In Colossians 3:13 I read, “Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.” (NLT)
Has someone ever done a crazy, hurtful thing to you or to someone you love? And I’ve thought, “I know the Christian thing to do is to forgive, so I will. I will forgive him as soon as he/she provides an apology.”
That mindset has a problem: I’m still holding on to the hurt. Truth is, that person may never ask me for forgiveness. They may never say they're sorry. They may not even care, or even realize what they’ve done. So I end up stewing over something that the other person has long ago forgotten. And it’s eating me up inside!
Never hold on to a hurt. It only leads to resentment, and resentment will tear me up. Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will harm someone else. It doesn’t work.
But resentment does have an antidote: forgiveness.
Jesus served as a clear example of forgiveness, even in the most extreme circumstances. As he hung on the cross, he said of his executioners: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34 NIV).
When I struggle to forgive, remember the great gift of God’s forgiveness, the forgiveness that Jesus offered on the cross and offers to me.
Colossians 3:13 sums it up well: “Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others” (NLT). (You might even write this verse down, carry it with you throughout the day, and memorize it. You’ll have plenty of chances to use it!)
The Greek word that is translated as “make allowance” carried the meaning “to bear with, to endure, to be tolerant.” In other words, cut people some slack.
Jesus said, “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy” (Matthew 5:7 NIV). If I want God’s blessing in my life, one way to receive it is by being merciful.
When faced with a hurt, I have a choice: I can hold on to it and be destroyed by resentment, or I can live in the freedom of forgiveness. Choose to forgive today.
In summary, learn to make allowances for other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends me. Remember how the Lord forgave me, so I must forgive others. When someone does a crazy or hurtful thing to me I can think “I know the Christian thing to do is to forgive, so I will. I will forgive him as soon as he/she provides an apology.” However that kind of mindset has a problem: I’m still holding on to the hurt. Truth is, that person may never ask me for forgiveness, say they're sorry, care, or even realize what they’ve done. So I end up stewing over something that the other person has long ago forgotten. And this will eat me up inside! I should never hold on to a hurt, for It will only lead to resentment, and that resentment will tear me up. Resentment is much like drinking poison and then hoping it will harm someone else. However, resentment does have an antidote: forgiveness. When I struggle to forgive, remember the great gift of God’s forgiveness. The Greek word that is translated as “make allowance” carried the meaning “to bear with, to endure, to be tolerant.” In other words, cut people some slack. If I want God’s blessing in my life, one way to receive it is by being merciful. So when faced with a hurt, I have a choice: I can hold on to it and be destroyed by resentment, or I can live in the freedom of forgiveness. The wise choice on my part is to choose to forgive today.
The key to forgiving others is remembering how much God has forgiven me. It should be so difficult to forgive someone who has wronged me a little when God has forgiven me for so much. Realize that God's infinite love and forgiveness can help me love and forgive others. Let God worry about the wrongs I've suffered. Don't quench my life in bitter feuding; live renewed in love and joy.
Father, I need you in my life. Please give me Your strength for today and remind me in little ways that I can always believe in, have faith in and can trust you in everything. This includes being the authority for my life, the source of my self-worth and my hope for the future. You have my best interests in mind. So I ask you to help me to embrace the way you’ve made me; my gifting and passions. I want to serve and fulfill the mission you have in mind for me. Father, I ask for your help and reminder to provide forgiveness and to cut others some slack. After all you have forgiven me.
I ask for wisdom and guidance for my day, my work, my leadership, my interactions with others, my preparation for my new future job, and finishing well in my old one. I ask these things through you Son Jesus’ name, Amen.
0 comments:
Post a Comment