Matthew 6:15 (NKJV) 15 But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Forgiveness is a topic that could be taught on every day of the week and still it would not be often enough.
We all need to learn to forgive more often and more readily. It’s too easy to hold onto things and harbor unforgiveness in our hearts.
Everyone who is reading this has been hurt by someone. Everyone.
There isn’t a single person who hasn’t had something traumatic happen to them at the hands of another person. Some of us may have had some major hurts, while others might only be minor. But we have all been hurt.
The question now is; “What will we do with it?”.
We have two choices. Hold onto it and become angry and bitter. Or forgive the person, give it over to God and move on with our lives. There is no middle ground.
Some people are much quicker to forgive and move on. A lot of it is related to our personalities. But regardless of our personality type, God has told us that we must forgive if we want to be forgiven.
That may seem harsh, but I like the fact that God doesn’t beat around the bush. He lays it out before us and says “the choice is yours”.
I will admit that this is an area where God has had to do considerable work in me. I hate injustice and I hate when something goes unresolved. So when someone hurts me, it’s a lot tougher for me to simply lay it down and move on.
I’d rather try to fix it and work everything out to make it “perfect”. But this is real life and not everyone wants to resolve problems. Some people are happier to hold onto anger and let it turn into bitterness.
But if God says we need to forgive, then we need to forgive. Period. We need to lay our own preferences aside and do what we’re told by our heavenly Father.
We have been given much regarding our own forgiveness. God saw fit to forgive us for every sin we ever committed when we asked Him to. Therefore, we have definitely been given much. So if we have been given much, then much is required of us.
Luke 12:48 (NKJV) 48 …For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.
Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie
Seven Seas Ministries
P.O. Box 272
Bradford, RI 02808
401-315-0902
If you know someone who will enjoy this or be encouraged by it, please feel free to share it with them!
To have the Bible Verse of The Day delivered to your inbox each day, please enter your email address in the box near the upper right corner of this page!