I’ve been focusing my devotional life on the Cross lately, writing and reflecting on that most pivotal event in history. Next Wednesday will begin a season of reflection and preparation called Lent. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and concludes on Holy Saturday. The six Sundays in Lent are not counted among the forty days of Lent because each Sunday represents a “mini-Easter”, a celebration of Jesus’ victory over sin and death.
The series we began last Sunday reminds us that we dare to love because God loved first. We also forgive because we have been forgiven. John wrote that if we walk in the light “the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.” (1 John 1:7) When we confess our sins, admitting our guilt, “he will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)
What have you been forgiven of? Just think, we have been purified from ALL sin and cleansed of ALL unrighteousness. What does “ALL” represent to you? Take some time to really think about that one. Most of you received the TueTXT: “Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” (Colossians 3:13)
I hate that part. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. Oh, I don’t hate that he has forgiven me ALL my sins and cleansed me of ALL unrighteousness. I hate that I need to forgive others as the Lord has forgiven me. What if the Lord withheld His forgiveness like I sometimes withhold my own? What if He dealt with me the way I sometimes deal with the guy on the freeway, or the slow clerk at the store… or my wife… or my girls… or my mom… or the brother/sister in church who ticks me off… I am running into a lot of people who continue to hold on to resentment instead of living a lifestyle of forgiveness.
My two favorite online tools for Bible study are http://www.biblegateway.com and www.dictionary.com. Forgiveness is releasing someone from liability and indebtedness and ceasing to feel resentment for something done against you.
“I can’t do that.” Neither can I. It’s impossible on our own. It’s impossible to love until we know how much we’ve been loved. It’s impossible to forgive until we know how much we’ve been forgiven of. Jesus said, “the one who has been forgiven little loves little, but the one who has been forgiven much loves much.” (Luke 7:47) There is a direct link between our ability to forgive and our capacity to love… and be loved.
I’d love to tell you to forgive when you feel like it, or that it’s a good suggestion. It’s actually a command. We have to. If you want some psychobabble, holding on to resentment is killing you from the inside. You’re hurting yourself as much as you think you’re hurting the other person.
If you want the harsh truth, unforgiveness is sin.
“And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” (Mark 11:25) After Jesus taught his disciples to pray he said, “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” (Matthew 6:14-15)
For some situations this just seems completely impossible. Yet, that’s what living the verticallife is all about. It’s not about trying to get ‘er done with our own strength of will. It’s about looking up when a lack of forgiveness has got us down. So when life’s got you down, focus up.
Leave a Comment so far
Leave a comment
