Forgiveness

Hello!

So it's been FOREVER since I have blogged... but I thought I'd give it a go.

There are a few things that God has brought to my attention lately that I would like to share...

The first is about family and forgiveness.  I have come to realize that although we may not always feel ready to forgive, that does not mean that we should not forgive.  So often, we let our emotions control our willingness to love and forgive, and if we live our lives totally consumed by emotions we are never going to get anywhere.  Here are 2 passages I think illustrate this lesson:

Ecclesiastes 9: 2-6

2 e It is the same for all, since f the same event happens to the righteous and the wicked, to the good and the evil, [1] to the clean and the unclean, to him who sacrifices and him who does not sacrifice. As the good one is, so is the sinner, and he who g swears is as he who shuns an oath. 3 This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that e the same event happens to all. Also, the hearts of the children of man are full of evil, and h madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead. 4 But he who is joined with all the living has hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion. 5 For the living know that they will die, but i the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for j the memory of them is forgotten. 6 Their love and their hate and their envy have already perished, and forever they have no more share in all that is done under the sun.

This passage is hinting that many people live their life like they are invincible and are never going to die. However, what we must realize is that death happens to all regardless of what they do. I'm not trying to depress you, my point is that if we live our whole lives holding onto hate and un-forgiveness, where is that going to get us.  That hate and un-forgiveness with die with us, and what does that accomplish aside from leaving hurt behind for others?  Face it, anyone can die at any moment and if we hold onto things and cause strife, who will be happy aside from Satan?

2 Corinthians 2:5-11

5 Now y if anyone has caused pain, z he has caused it not to me, but a in some measure—not to put it too severely—to all of you. 6 For such a one, b this punishment by the majority is enough, 7 so c you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 8 So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him. 9 For this is why I wrote, that I might d test you and know e whether you are obedient in everything. 10 Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. Indeed, what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ, 11 so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for f we are not ignorant of his designs.

I'm sure this passage speaks for itself.  Those who do wrong are punished enough by all the other people in this world who refuse to forgive them, so, give them a break! Show them your love for them, for love is a command, not a feeling.  Even if you feel hurt, forgive them for the sake of God and to free yourself from some of that hurt.  Often times people may not even realize how they are hurting people until someone proclaims forgiveness for them. Or, maybe they've done wrong because they think that nobody cares about them or loves them.

These passages are especially applicable when dealing with family.  If you have family strife, realize that No one is perfect aside from God.  That is why we have a father in Heaven, He is the one perfect model for us all to strive for.  If we expect everyone to play nice and be perfect all the time, that is such a double standard because we ourselves cannot meet that standard.  Only God can, and that's why we go to Him to fill in those gaps for us.  We can't do it on our own.  If we expect everyone else to be nice to us and love us as much as He does, then we are obviously living in denial of GOD's perfection, and living in denial of our own weakness.

Moral of the story: Be slow to anger and quick to forgive.

<3