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Before you read ahead, I want to give you the opportunity to think of three powerful words… Take your time, we’ll wait for you.
I can only imagine what three words you thought about. I can only guess that some thought “I love you” or the total opposite “I hate you” There’s no doubt that those are strong and powerful, but I have discovered that there’s a combination of three even more powerful than there, “I forgive you ”
If we’re honest with ourselves, we are not as forgiving as we would let others believe. We don’t measure the offenses of others the way Christ measures ours. Loving comes almost natural, either by blood lines or affinity with others. Hate is a strong feeling that comes from hurt and pain. So we don’t have to work hard on that.
The irony is that when we mess up we want our transgressions to be quickly forgiven and forgotten. When someone else commits the offense we are not as quick to forgive and even less to forget.
In my journey, I ran into the scriptures in Matthew that says “and forgive our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against me” We tell God on almost a daily basis to forgive us as the same way we forgive others. Is that what we really want?
We justify saying, “but you don’t know what they did and how much pain that caused. Did you know that in the eyes of God a lie and a murder weight the same? A sin is a sin, the fact that others sin different than us doesn’t make they deserving of forgiveness. Forgiveness takes courage and a lot of soul searching. I’ve been in the experience of giving it to God one, two and multiple times and getting back to be reminded by the feelings of anger at any given trigger. But when you can finally say, “I forgive you” you receive freedom.
The other person may not care. They may not even receive it. That’s between them and God, but you will be out of the cage that had kept you prisoner while you lived in unforgiveness.
As an appreciation to all my readers I have kept the book “Growth Lessons” at 0.99 cents so that you can enjoy other devotionals and lessons that the Lord has showed me through my journey. Be blessed.
