There are a lot of verses in the Bible that deal with forgiveness. Forgiveness is the very core of salvation. In order to be saved we must accept God's forgiveness of our sins. It is very easy to talk about God's forgiving grace and His forgiving mercy......His forgiving. Let the preacher get on the topic of how wonderful God's forgiveness is........and just watch it break out all over the house!
But, turn the tide....let's talk about us being the ones to forgive...........and things can get quiet, very quickly. Matthew 6:14, 15 "For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; But if ye forgive not men their trespasses neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." This flesh has a real problem with that! It easily argues: 'you don't know what they did to me!'
One of Satan's wiles, or crafty deceptions that he uses to destroy the joy of our salvation and stop our christian growth and fellowship is through unforgiveness. If he can plant that seed in your heart...then all he has to do is sit back and watch it grow. Watch it turn into anger, then to bitterness.......which in turn results in a very cold, hard christian who is so far from God that he is absolutely of no value!
As God as my witness, I try to keep this seed of unforgiveness from taking root into my soul. It is often hard to do. Every so often, I like to take inventory of myself. I try to keep check on this rotten flesh of mine. I had an incident in my adolescence that I had no control over, and was not my fault, though I struggled with that fact for many years. This incident was very bad, but with God's protective hand helping me, it could have been a whole lot worse. However, it did change my life. I did what I am so good at doing.........I built a wall, kept that little secret safely tucked away so it wouldn't hurt me again.
Well, that is a lie straight from the pits of Hell, because it often climbed over those walls I built to disturb me. I told no one about it for many years....not even God...as if He didn't know already. As a matter of fact I have only told 2 people about it to this very day. I have also talked with the Lord about it, and even though I never was given the reason of why it happened, I felt pretty secure in the fact that I had forgiven this person.
God knows that we are human, and though he tells us to forgive, He understands that we often times cannot forget. But by not forgetting.........be careful not to keep that little grudge going. When something awful happens, we are to forgive, but that doesn't mean we are to go on as if it didn't happen. This person never spoke of what happened to me, never asked me for forgiveness. The few times I saw this person down through the years, I wanted to scream, "How can you look at me, talk to me, as if nothing ever happened?!?" But, taking it to the Lord in prayer, I would find a release, a sweet peace.
It wasn't until recently, staring down into the casket of this person, that I finally figured out true forgiveness. I had forgiven, but, I, often, would give it back to the devil...so he could find me at a weak moment, and try to plant it all over again. Beside that casket that day, I let it go, released that awful moment in time, and while it did change my life, I chose to make it a good change. I read this statement and it was exactly what I was feeling that day: "I choose peace. I will live forgiven. I will forgive so that I may live." YES! Freedom, that is what I got that day.......I had truly forgiven. God truly forgave me that day on the cross so that I may have eternal life.....and I finally totally released my forgiveness to this person so that I can live! What a sweet release!
So, if you are struggling to forgive someone or something.........no one said it would be easy. But, get in God's Word, and let Him guide you. Whether they ever ask for forgiveness or not...for your well being and spiritual peace......truly forgive them.....and LIVE!!!!
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