Men and women are seriously roughed up by our haphazard neglect of doing what is right. No one is exempt. Every person, prince or pauper, experiences the spiraling decline of a life stricken in the heart by sin.
A grand mistake each tends to make is to live by comparative sin. This mistaken method allows us an avenue to salve our consciences because it is easy to look over at the bigger sinner (?). Such a street is really a dead-end alley.
How do we forgive others? It is very difficult as long as we see ourselves as clean on our own. It is very easy once we see we are clean only because he died on the cross as the expense of self sin was auctioned off to the highest bidder and Jesus won the bidding.
It is easy to forgive others when we see ourselves as equal or worse.
It is easy to forgive others when we hear God say He will forgive us on the basis of how we forgive others.
If we can't forgive everyone of everything.....we have simply forgotten who we really are....the chiefest of sinners.
3 comments:
Powerfully written. It took me decades to forgive a very close relative for crimes against me. Once I forgave, I became free! Truly free! It was the Holy Spirit that has enabled me to let go, to forgive in order that I can live in peace and freedom. It did not come easy, but the Holy Spirit lead me all the way.
Terry, forgiveness is a one way street. God doesn't tell us to forgive once we are reconciled to the one who has offended. He just tells us to forgive. That's a tough one, but it's one of those things God has told us to do. It sure does make our lives simpler when we can do that.
What a wonderful way to put forgiveness. It's so easy to not forgive because so often we are only focusing on self. Too many times I hear people say they won't forgive until another apologizes or makes ammends. That is such a shame considering we were forgiven on the cross before we were even conceived. Forgiveness, like love, is a choice we must make. Sometimes we have to make it daily, sometimes almost constantly, but that choice is the only thing that can release us from the bondage of unforgiveness. We should remember that it truly only hurts self when we choose not to forgive.
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