Matthew 6:14
“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Mark 11:25
25 “And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.
God also tells us that we are to love one another -
John 13: 34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
35 By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
God also tells us to love our neighbor as we love ourselves, but what if we don't love ourselves? What if we haven't truly grasped Gods love for us. If we can't love ourselves, how do we love others? Then I ask, do we hold forgiveness from others because we haven't forgiven ourselves? Do we still feel unworthy. Do we still think that our sins were too bad. Do we feel that God can't use us because we were just that bad. Or maybe it's not that we were that bad, maybe we think we are just not good enough. I'll let you off the hook - you're not and neither am I. But Jesus is! He is what we could never be. For 33 years He lived Sin free. He took everything on Himself, because God knew we could never bear it ourselves. We all need to really wrap our trust around the truth that because of the Holy Spirit that lives on the inside of us - we have - are and can do everything. Don't forgive with your feelings, don't love with your feelings, love and forgive with the power that Jesus died to give you.
1 Peter 4:8 And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins
Blessings,
Lynn
4 comments:
Amen!
This is the second post I've read today on Forgiveness. You are so right. We do need to forgive those we think may have wronged us. I have always avoided conflict when I could. I recently learned from God that when something happens that does not feel right you need to go to that person (which I did) and found that I had misunderstood what happened.
It felt so good afterwards. God is so good to help us even in our senior years to do what is right.
From my heart to yours,
AliceE.
True. I have read that the best way to remain open and ready to forgive is that Jesus already did it; for us AND for them (you know...them! The ones you cannot forgive).
Matthew 18: 32-35 (parable of the unmerciful servant)
32"Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' 34In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
35"This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart."
and Colossians 2:13b-15;
He forgave us all our sins, 14having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. 15And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
So we need to ask ourselves, who am I that I should not forgive? Am I better that Christ who forgave ALL our sins? By humbling ourselves at the cross and asking to see others as Jesus sees them , we open ourselves up to forgive them as Jesus first forgave us. And we sometimes learn something in the process to... (added bonus ;))
dropping by to say Hi. I believe that I am walking in love and forgiveness and yet @ times the way I respond to someone reveals that I must be holding something against them. There is usually something in common with the people who I react negatively to...so it is not them it is me...just not sure why certain personalities rub me the wrong way...not sure I need to know why..I do need to be quicker at recognizing my attitude and be quick to forgive and be forgiven.
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