Okay, I've been putting this one off. Truth is, it's one of the hardest.
Did you know that God requires us forgive others? Yes, requires. The return on our forgiveness of others is His forgiveness of us. I didn't make that up. It's in Matthew 6:15, which says "but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." What does that mean? Well, I'm still working on it, but my current understanding is that it means God will not allow you to be ruled by bitterness and by Jesus (forgiveness) at the same time. You must choose which kingdom you want to establish. Before I explain more, let me take a couple of steps back.
Last time, I wrote about anger. I've been angry at my dad for many reasons. And angry at a lot of other things as well. While I've been angry, the Holy Spirit has continued to remind me that it is imperative that I forgive. Of course, I keep asking "why?" (sigh) I realize entire volumes have been written on the subject of forgiveness, but I just want to share a little bit about what God is trying to teach me right now (again!).
Anger is generally not content to stay anger. Hatred and violence come right along side it and look for ways to be expressed. Yelling, cursing, saying slanderous things, gossip, being short tempered: those can all be ways that violence will manifest with anger behind it. (Violence doesn't have to just be physical.) James tells us that "the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God (James 1:20)." What grabbed me about that scripture was the indication that anger wants to produce something. It wants to "take somebody out." And whatever method we allow it, it will take.
On the flip-side, God wants to produce something through forgiveness, His kingdom. John 3:17 says "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him." Jesus showed us the heart of the Father through forgiveness. The ultimate expression of that forgiveness is in Luke 23:34 when Jesus, on the cross, says "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do." Has it ever occurred to you that those who have hurt you didn't know what they were doing? I know how hard that is to swallow, and I'm not sure I understand it completely myself, but I think it's something we ought to consider in dealing with the need to forgive.
Hebrews 12:15 says "See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no "root of bitterness" springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled." I want to zero in on the word "defiled." Have you ever been the brunt of someone's anger? Have you experienced an unclean feeling that comes when someone is violent toward you? That's defilement. Bitterness is defiling. It robs everyone around it of the cleanliness of God's righteousness. Also note the word "root." Bitterness can begin as simple unforgiveness, but when you pile on hurt and anger, hatred, violence, and resentment, you can end up with a deeply embedded root of bitterness under all of it. And it takes a good bit of work to dig up that root. That's why it's so important for us to forgive, as Jesus said, 70x7 (Matthew 18:22). In other words, without limit. Because forgiveness is what the Father has done for us through Jesus Christ and it is foundational to His kingdom. So guess who's kingdom we're establishing in our bitterness and unforgiveness?
I know it's not easy, and God knows it's not easy. You think Jesus had an easy time forgiving all the rejection of the church leaders in his day and the abandonment of his own followers at the cross? There is power in what the world views as weakness. Let's challenge ourselves to grab hold of that power through our obedience to His heart, because He loves us, oh, how He loves us.
Till next time,
Jeremy
that was awesome, thanks for sharing.
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