Did someone hurt or offend you yesterday? last month? years ago? Was it something so terrible that no one could forgive? Was it a repeat of what they have done to you numerous times? To live in our world is to suffer pain - physical or emotional; loss - of reputation, of money, of honour; offence - unjust criticism or accusations, disrespect, dishonesty.
To walk with inner peace in our world requires the practice of quick and regular forgiveness. Secular writers, with no reference to God or religion, emphasize this continually. They remind us that if we choose to live with an unforgiving attitude we will become angry, bitter people. The person who will suffer most from our unforgiving attitude is ourselves. These writers/teachers/psychologists have discovered truth - God's truth. What they cannot offer is what God offers to us through Jesus.
We who trust in and follow Jesus; who listen to his teaching and respond, have such a huge advantage in developing a forgiving attitude. A major reason, I think the prime reason, is that we have experienced God's forgiveness. Huge forgiveness. Eternal forgiveness. Our Holy, Heavenly Father has forgiven the countless sins of thought, word and action that we have committed over a lifetime. He has forgiven all the sins of omission - what we've failed to say and do. This because Jesus, through the cross, has taken our sin and given us His righteousness. (II Corinthians 5:21)
It is as though we have been forgiven a debt of a billion dollars. Therefore when someone by hurting or offending us now owes us $10. or $100. or even $1,000. of forgiveness, we find it relatively easy to say: "I forgive you." "I choose to forgive them."
There is no way to compare the relatively small forgiveness I may have to offer you, with the huge forgiveness I have received through Christ my Saviour. That must be my perspective on forgiveness, starkly presented in the parable of Jesus found in Matthew 18:21 - 34.
I have found this parable, this great truth about the size of God's forgiveness, of great help in "letting hurts and offences go"; great help in truly forgiving others over the years. I hope this parable, the truth it teaches has helped you to become a quick "forgiver".
To walk with inner peace in our world requires the practice of quick and regular forgiveness. Secular writers, with no reference to God or religion, emphasize this continually. They remind us that if we choose to live with an unforgiving attitude we will become angry, bitter people. The person who will suffer most from our unforgiving attitude is ourselves. These writers/teachers/psychologists have discovered truth - God's truth. What they cannot offer is what God offers to us through Jesus.
We who trust in and follow Jesus; who listen to his teaching and respond, have such a huge advantage in developing a forgiving attitude. A major reason, I think the prime reason, is that we have experienced God's forgiveness. Huge forgiveness. Eternal forgiveness. Our Holy, Heavenly Father has forgiven the countless sins of thought, word and action that we have committed over a lifetime. He has forgiven all the sins of omission - what we've failed to say and do. This because Jesus, through the cross, has taken our sin and given us His righteousness. (II Corinthians 5:21)
It is as though we have been forgiven a debt of a billion dollars. Therefore when someone by hurting or offending us now owes us $10. or $100. or even $1,000. of forgiveness, we find it relatively easy to say: "I forgive you." "I choose to forgive them."
There is no way to compare the relatively small forgiveness I may have to offer you, with the huge forgiveness I have received through Christ my Saviour. That must be my perspective on forgiveness, starkly presented in the parable of Jesus found in Matthew 18:21 - 34.
I have found this parable, this great truth about the size of God's forgiveness, of great help in "letting hurts and offences go"; great help in truly forgiving others over the years. I hope this parable, the truth it teaches has helped you to become a quick "forgiver".
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