I do not know about you, but these are not my favorite verses in the Bible. They cause me to have to change. They cause me to have to do something. They cause me to have to be uncomfortable and sometimes even confrontational. Because I talk so much, I always say something wrong. I have started just apologizing after almost all my conversations with people and after all of the Bible studies I teach! I think I'll just start with an apology to save time!
Seriously, the Church has an issue with forgiveness. I have struggled with it and I venture to say if you are breathing today, you have as well. But, God is really serious about this forgiveness thing. In case we have forgotten, He allowed His only Son to be rejected, ridiculed, and murdered so we could be forgiven. That fact tells me He's serious about forgiveness.
What I find so amazing in my own life sometimes and in the people around me is that we will forgive people for "big" things, but struggle to forgive people that hurt our feelings. Words that cut to the heart seem to continue to bleed for a long time. What I want to offer you today about the issue of forgiveness is that it cannot be done alone. Regardless of the offense - large or small - we find it impossible to forgive within ourselves. But, we must. So what are we to do?
Again, let me offer some wisdom from my friend, Corrie ten Boom. Corrie spent much time in prison and concentration camps for helping the Jews during the Holocaust. After the war, she was speaking and saw in the crowd a guard that had been at Ravensbruck, one of the most cruel concentration camps. She recognized this man and realized he had been the one the women had had to strip in front of and walk to the showers. He had been very cruel. Ironically, Corrie had just spoken on forgiveness. The former guard walked up to her and told her he had been a guard at Ravensbruck, but since the war had become a Christian. He told her he knew God had forgiven him, but he wanted to hear it from her. He asked her forgiveness and offered her his hand. Corrie stood there frozen knowing that she must forgive him, but the pain was so deep. Her sister had died in the camp. So here's what she did...
"And still I stood there with the coldness clutching my heart. But forgiveness is not an emotion - I knew that too. Forgiveness is an act of the will, and the will can function regardless of the temperature of the heart. "Jesus, help me!" I prayed silently. "I can lift my hand. I can do that much. You supply the feeling." And so woodenly, mechanically, I thrust my hand into the one stretched out to me. And as I did, an incredible thing took place. The current started in my shoulder, raced down my arm, sprang into our joined hands. And then this healing warmth seemed to flood my whole being, bringing tears to my eyes. "I forgive you, brother!" I cried. "With all my heart." - A Tramp for the Lord, Corrie ten Boom
What a miracle! That miracle can take place in your life as well. If there is someone you haven't fully forgiven, allow God to do it through you. Surely if He can do it through this woman who had been through so much, He can do it through you and I. Also, if there is someone you have offended or hurt and you know about it, ask their forgiveness. This is a vital issue in our lives. I do not want you or I to miss out on what God has for us because we refused to forgive someone. Let's make it right today.
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