On Going Beyond Forgiveness
One Sunday this summer, my pastor had decided to preach on the topic of forgiveness. A topic that perhaps many of us have a tendency to glance over.
It's easy enough to forgive someone when they bump into you, take the last sandwich or forget to call you, right? But as my pastor was preaching through the Lord's Prayer and came to "forgive our sins as we forgive those who sin against us", that sentence - even though I've heard it read, recited and preached over hundreds of times before - pierced my soul that day.
I'd always viewed myself as a forgiving person, but in that moment I remembered one person who I'd never even tried to forgive.
It's easy to look past minor offenses, but when someone has hurt you so deeply that you find it hard to trust anyone, your heart will shut itself up in a tower and refuse to come down.
Because of how my friend had treated me and the things they'd done and said - I had let bitterness and anger well up inside of me towards this person. But here Jesus was telling me that I'm supposed to forgive people the same way He forgives me. What on earth was this supposed to look like in this situation?
What's forgiveness supposed to look like when the people on the other side of the fence are those who've insulted us, betrayed us, abused us and abandoned us?
What's forgiveness supposed to look like when Jesus says to forgive the back-biters, the family members or friends who left us to fend for ourselves, or the people who only stuck around so they could use us?
What about forgiving those who would never dream of apologizing?
The Merriam Webster dictionary defines the prefix "for-" as meaning "completely; excessively; to exhaustion." When Christ calls us to forgive our enemies, to bless those who curse us - He asks us to give them grace, to offer them the same undeserved compassion which we ourselves have received. Completely. Excessively. Even to the point of our own exhaustion.
"To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you," Lewis says.
No matter how deeply we've been hurt in this world - we can never understand just how much our sin hurts God's heart. But I believe that in actively choosing every day to forgive those who've wronged us, we get to see a glimpse into His heart and a bit of the pain He endures for us as well.
I've chosen not to let the way that person treated me have authority over who I am in Christ. I've decided not to give into the fear, anger and bitterness planted in me by the devil.
I know this will be a difficult journey - the devil hates it when we refuse to give him a foothold. But to be honest, I wouldn't have it any other way.
What about you?
It's easy enough to forgive someone when they bump into you, take the last sandwich or forget to call you, right? But as my pastor was preaching through the Lord's Prayer and came to "forgive our sins as we forgive those who sin against us", that sentence - even though I've heard it read, recited and preached over hundreds of times before - pierced my soul that day.
I'd always viewed myself as a forgiving person, but in that moment I remembered one person who I'd never even tried to forgive.
It's easy to look past minor offenses, but when someone has hurt you so deeply that you find it hard to trust anyone, your heart will shut itself up in a tower and refuse to come down.
Because of how my friend had treated me and the things they'd done and said - I had let bitterness and anger well up inside of me towards this person. But here Jesus was telling me that I'm supposed to forgive people the same way He forgives me. What on earth was this supposed to look like in this situation?
What's forgiveness supposed to look like when the people on the other side of the fence are those who've insulted us, betrayed us, abused us and abandoned us?
What's forgiveness supposed to look like when Jesus says to forgive the back-biters, the family members or friends who left us to fend for ourselves, or the people who only stuck around so they could use us?
What about forgiving those who would never dream of apologizing?
The Merriam Webster dictionary defines the prefix "for-" as meaning "completely; excessively; to exhaustion." When Christ calls us to forgive our enemies, to bless those who curse us - He asks us to give them grace, to offer them the same undeserved compassion which we ourselves have received. Completely. Excessively. Even to the point of our own exhaustion.
"To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you," Lewis says.
No matter how deeply we've been hurt in this world - we can never understand just how much our sin hurts God's heart. But I believe that in actively choosing every day to forgive those who've wronged us, we get to see a glimpse into His heart and a bit of the pain He endures for us as well.
I've chosen not to let the way that person treated me have authority over who I am in Christ. I've decided not to give into the fear, anger and bitterness planted in me by the devil.
I know this will be a difficult journey - the devil hates it when we refuse to give him a foothold. But to be honest, I wouldn't have it any other way.
What about you?
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