FORGIVENESS

Matthew 18:21-22 Then Peter came and said to Him, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?" Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven."
Jesus said that we should forgive seventy times seven. What does that mean? Jesus was actually saying to forgive and forgive and forgive - constantly and consistently. Doesn't that seem ridiculous? How can we keep forgiving without being a "wimp"? Shouldn't we at least "teach that person a lesson" or stand up to the one hurting us? "God just does not understand what I am going through!" Oh, really......hmmmmm.

There are people in our lives that just seem like they do not deserve forgiveness. How can God ask us to forgive these people? They have hurt us so deeply. Sometimes, the hurt seems intentional. And other times, these people just do not have the common courtesy to think about what they have are doing. There are people we do not want to forgive because we want to hang on to this "feeling" of being a victim. We hold it over the head of the guilty party in order to control them or at least make them FEEL guilty. We tell ourselves that we have done no wrong because we are not retaliating, we are not out to get them, and so we are fine with "holding" this precious "hurt" that we have. And then we do not forgive. Why? It reminds us that we do not like this person. OR possibly the hurt helps us receive sympathy from others; OR we share in some misery with a crowd of "victims" or at best win the prize of "I've been hurt the most, so please give me all the attention". So, really not forgiving is a failure in our lives that we want to hold; we can hide it and then we bring it out occasionally to remind ourselves that we are better than the ones who hurt us. Maybe having this "hurt" in our back pocket is comforting. We "prove" that "No one likes me" and "everyone is out to get me".

Whatever, the case, forgiveness is a command from God. It is also something God freely did at the Cross. He forgave ALL our sins. He did not question any sin individually. They were just poured out on Jesus Christ at the Cross - not one sin was scrutinized to see if it should be forgiven. It was just forgiven - enough said!

Colossians 3:13 says: "Bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you."

So we are to forgive others as Christ forgave everyone else (even that person who has hurt you). All the wrongs in the world have been forgiven at the Cross. Not by us, but by God the Father - Who GAVE HIS ONLY SON to die for those sins and transgressions! How can we do this? It seems impossible! By the strength of the Holy Spirit living in us. As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, we have the Holy Spirit indwelling in us. We cannot forgive from our human strength (flesh) but we can forgive through the power of the Holy Spirit. Galatians 5:16-17 says that we need to walk in the Spirit and we WILL NOT walk in the flesh. It's a choice.
(John 14:16-17; 1 Corinthians 3:16; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; Romans 8:9 and many more references talk about the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.) Is there anything in your life right now that is blocking God, the Holy Spirit from being in charge of your everyday walk? Any sins, any attitudes, any rebellion, etc.? Examine your life and give it all to the Lord. He will give you the strength to fulfill His commands, especially the one about forgiveness. Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."