“Bear
with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against
someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” Colossians 3:13
There are many times when someone does
or says something that offends or hurts us in the course of our life. The regenerate soul is to forgive just as it
has been forgiven. It is your obligation as a believer in Christ to forgive, whether
they receive your forgiveness or not.
How often are you to forgive another?
According to Christ, an infinite number of times. In Matthew 18:22, Peter asks Jesus how many
times he must forgive a brother. He asks
if 7 times if sufficient? Jesus answers,
"I tell you, not seven times, but
seventy-seven times.” Now for the literal mind that is 490 times, but the
message Jesus is conveying by his answer is an infinite or eternal amount of
times, just as the Father has forgiven you.
If you ever have a time when you
cannot bring yourself to forgive someone for a misdeed or indiscretion against
you, consider what it would be like if God decided he didn’t feel like
forgiving you. Although consequences follow
our actions, there is nothing that God will not forgive. It should be the same with us, but that can
be extremely difficult at times. We’ve all had someone in our lives that we
felt we couldn’t forgive. It takes a
spirit of love and mercy to see past the flaw in the individual into their
heart. It is a Christ-like
characteristic that I speak of and one that is accessible to us all.
Looking past our own emotions and
focusing on Christ and the forgiveness He offers is one of the keys to our
forgiving others. It’s never about
us. We are unimportant in this
case. God can heal our wounds if
asked. The one who has wronged you is in
need of your forgiveness whether they know it or not. It is a very liberating thing to the one
doing the forgiving and the one being forgiven.
Holding on to anger hurts no one but you, for the one you have anger
towards may be completely unaware of it.
Free yourself from the bondage of bitterness, anger and hate and forgive
as you have been forgiven, unconditionally and eternally. Until Christ’s return, walk with the King and
be a blessing!
