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Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Forgiveness

The world views forgiveness as it should be earned. If your husband, friend, brother, sister, mother or father wrongs you in some way then the world tells us they are to rectify the situation. Either by saying sorry a million times while we give the silent treatment, ignore them completley until they feel awful about what they did, or make them do 100 different things to earn our forgiveness.

We've all had to forgive someone of something. Usually it's the same person many times.

I had a little God spanking today about forgiveness (if you couldn't tell). Of course I make mistakes, don't we all? Most of the time I make the same mistake over and over about a million times before a God sized light bulb comes on and tells me to knock it off. I've lost (most) friends because of mistakes such as these.

Recently, before God got ahold of me, I made the biggest mistake of my life (so far, because I am only 24 after all). Every day since then I've had to defend myself, I've had to appologize to someone, and I've had to forgive myself. (From my perspective)

When I made this mistake, God spoke to me through a (now) very good friend and He said "Haven't I protected you your whole life, it's time you remove the things that have been keeping you from me and follow me." That's the gyst, there was so much more to it though than just these few words.

Since that moment, it's been nothing but forgiveness after forgiveness (on my part). I have been crying out to God and He's been showing me people that have come along in my life that I need to forgive.

When I asked God to forgive me for this big mistake, He did. No condemnation, no questions (mostly because he knew why I did what I did already, He's good like that). He just forgave me. No silent treatment, no "do 100 things then I'll forgive you. He just forgave me.

Today my husband and I got in a fight. He said some really hurtful things and all I could think about in my pride and arrogance was what about how I felt?!?! I didn't stop (until now) to think how he must have felt. How much I must have hurt him.

When I spoke to a friend, to get her advice on our fight, my exact words were I'll forgive him when I stop being mad at him...Ouch....what if God had done that with me? I'd still be lost and alone instead of on this journey of a lifetime.

Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Colossians 3:12-14

I'm not of this world, therefore I should not think like the world.

I forgive him - not because I have to but because I love him and I am trying to show him the love of God so he can be a part of what I feel daily. The love of God is a wonderful, powerful thing.

I forgive myself - because beating myself up won't help matters. I'm a child of God and I live forgiven.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

So very good & powerful. We should forgive much because we've been forgiven much.

Jenifer Metzger said...

So true. The Bible says that we are to forgive because we are forgiven. Thank you for posting this reminder!