Forgiving isn’t so easy! It is amazing how times I've heard people say, “Forgive and forget!” Where in the Bible does it say, “Forgive and forget?” It is true that God said forgive, “Forgive one another as quickly and thoroughly as God in Christ forgave you.” Ephesians 4:32 (MSG) and it is true that Jesus said that if we want God to forgive us, we have to be willing to forgive anyone to does us wrong. “You can’t get forgiveness from God, for instance, without also forgiving others. If you refuse to do your part, you cut yourself off from God’s part.” Matthew 6:14-15 (MSG)
Ouch,
Jesus!
How do I forgive
the man who raped me or the gang member who murdered my daughter?
How Can I
forgive the mom who abused me or the husband who beats me day after day after
day?
How in the world
do I forgive the one who molested me or the co-worker for lying and ruining my
reputation?
How do I forgive
my dad for running out on us or the kid who bullied me all throughout high
school?
Jesus, you make
it sound so easy, but it isn’t! I want
God to forgive me, but the pain…the pain is tremendous. The hurt is real. The memories of that day are embedded in my
mind so deeply. I see him. I still feel the slaps to my face and the
punches to my gut. I was just a child
when he came into the room and took my innocence. He was supposed to be a dad, but he left…he
just left without ever saying goodbye.
Ok, I get it
Jesus! You forgave the thugs who beat you.
Nailed you. Speared you. Spit on you.
Slapped you. Lied about you. Ridiculed you. Mocked you.
Denied you. Sold you out.
But…
No buts. “If you love me, obey my
commandments.” John 14:15 (NLT). Ok, Jesus!
Forgive? Now love? You’ve got to be kidding me? Checkout what my disciple Peter said, “Most important of all, continue to
show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins.” 1st Peter 4:8 (NLT) Personally Jesus I don’t
like it! Forgiving is hard. Loving someone who beat me, raped me, ran out
on us, lied and bullied me isn’t exactly easy to let go and forgive them. I get what you’re saying, but holding on to
the past hurts will not allow you to move beyond where you are in your
life. Another one of my disciples makes
a great point, “Love keeps no record of
being wronged....” 1st
Corinthians 13:5 (NLT) Keep no records of wrong? My memory of that night is deeply embedded in
my mind…how can I forget? The beating I
got just because has left me not trusting anyone. I still see my daughter in that coffin and
that will never go away…ever!
No one is asking you to forget! It is impossible for anyone to forget the
horrific acts that have been done; but what is being said is that when one
chooses to love, forgiveness becomes a much more doable process. A relationship with God that is built on
trusting him will allow one to work through the painful memories and place all
of the hurt and pain and sadness and troubled life in God’s hands.
Forgiving isn’t so easy! It is hard.
Going through life with bitterness in ones heart gets us nowhere fast! Opening the door of our heart and releasing
every situation, person or problem that has been endured over ones life time
will bring about a relief that will be felt deep within ones soul.
Forgiving isn’t so easy, but necessary!
Remember, Be God Controlled!
Brian
Brian, I get weary hearing so much about 'forgive and everything is allright' That is not true. It has never been true. Forgiveness doesn't really occur unless there is a change in character that caused the problem in the first place. The same is true with 'I'm sorry' which is used even more than 'forgiveness' is. Saying I'm sorry also never occurs until the factor that incited the event has been overcome by a change in the human that caused the problem in the first place. How about addressing both of these in our next blog. Look......I don't think Jesus ever intended to just let anyone do anything and to get off the hook via the utterance of mere words. It takes a change in character and in performance before anything happens. I get irritated with those preachers that tell everyone that all they have to do to overcome some dire conflict in their life performance against what ammounts as a violation against an established rule is for them to merly utter a couple of words and then continue on their way. That was never the way God even as Christ ever established the rules that we are supposed to follow. I think these two points are causing grave damage to Christianity as a whole. The preachers give the impression that being a Christian is easy, not risky, and requireds little effort. That is not true at all. The concept of the current president is the best example that I have ever seen which is a real life example in the flesh of what happens when Christianity is not taken seriously. What has having a gun got to do with being a Christian? I am just illustrating what happens when Christianity is perverted, watered down, and falsefied. It's hard to be a Christian....and anyone that says otherwise is simply wrong.
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To forgive as Jesus did seems to be contingent upon the willingness of the instigator of the wrong to repent. Forgiveness from God is alway predicated upon repentance. If I forgive as Jesus, there should be repentance.
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