As sure as summer brings the sun, people bring pain. We all have been hurt by others in our lives.
What do we do when we get hurt?
Do we hate?
Do we get angry and try to get even?
We must remember that as Christians we have been forgiven so we also must forgive.
To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.
C.S.Lewis
God gave us grace. So we must give grace.
Grace is not blind-it sees the hurt but chooses to see God’s forgiveness even more.
Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, (13) bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.
Colossians 3:12-13
I know that is easy to say.
Have you ever found it difficult to forgive someone who wronged you?
Did you hold a grudge?
Why is it so easy to hold a grudge?
Being hurt by someone, particularly someone you love and trust, can cause anger, sadness and confusion. If you dwell on hurtful events or situations, grudges filled with resentment, vengeance and hostility can take root. If you allow negative feelings to crowd out positive feelings, you might find yourself swallowed up by your own bitterness or sense of injustice.
If you do not transform your pain, you will surely transmit it.
Richard Rohr
What are the effects of holding a grudge?
You will bring anger and bitterness into every relationship and new experience.
You will become so wrapped up in the wrong that you can't enjoy the present.
You will become depressed or anxious.
You will feel that your life lacks meaning or purpose, or that you're at odds with your spiritual beliefs.
You will lose valuable and enriching connections with others.
Grace refuses to let pain poison the heart.
Jesus was persecuted more than anyone. He was humiliated, tortured, beaten, and eventually killed. Yet he forgave.
If you live a godly life, you will be persecuted. You can count on this. It is not a matter of if; it is a matter of when and how much.
We love to claim the promises of God. We love to claim His promises of provision and protection. But how many of us have claimed this promise ?
"Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution"
2 Timothy 3:12
I haven't. Who likes to be persecuted?
Nobody. Yet we must focus on Jesus and his love and forgiveness for us.
Not one of us has been persecuted as much as Jesus was.
Think of Jesus when he washed the disciples feet. He even washed the feet of Judas who was to betray him to be put to death. I can't imagine that kind of forgiveness.
Or when he was crucified he said:
"Father Forgive them for they know not what they do."
Luke 23:34
I want to be able to forgive like that. We all need to try to forgive like that.
"Now if anyone has caused pain, he has caused it not to me, but in some measure — not to put it too severely — to all of you. For such a one, this punishment by the majority is enough, so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. So, I beg you to reaffirm your love for him … Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive."
2 Corinthians 2:5-8
To forgive is an act of kindness that helps you heal and other people heal in God's light as well.
We must forgive one another.
To Accept Grace is to accept the vow to give it
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