Hi Friends,
I hope you are having a great day today! Since we are moving into the new schedule I've decided to split the blog name into 2 parts -- Roses and Chocolate Mint will be the devotional part and Sunflowers & Sweet Tea will be tips, tricks, recipes and ideas. There's not a scientific or deep theological meaning or reason for this except that Roses and Chocolate Mint are really luxurious and fragrant as is the Word of God -- and Sunflowers and Sweet Tea just sound more casual and friendly as if we would be sitting down for a glass of tea and some cookies to chat at the kitchen table.
Today I'd like to spend sometime talking about forgiveness. I know that we've been working through spiritual gifts and we'll get to that too, but today forgiveness seems to be something that just needs to be addressed. Jesus tells us to "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us" in the Lord's Prayer. He tells us, "Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn others, or it will all come back against you. Forgive others, and you will be forgiven," in Luke 6:37.
There are so many passages on forgiveness in the Bible. And God warns us how the root of bitterness sprouts from a seed of unforgiveness. Bitterness can rob our joy, destroy relationships, and destroy our lives and mental health if we don't forgive. It can also carry over into future generations. Do we really want to pass this "bad seed" down to our children, grand-children and their children?
What is forgiveness? I used to think that forgiving others meant letting the deed that was done against me go away and make everything alright and "hunky dory". But you know, that's not really what forgiveness is.
Forgiveness is giving up our right to punish the person for words said or deeds done. Forgiveness doesn't mean that we have to be friends again. It doesn't mean that we let the other person off the hook. It doesn't even mean that the one who has hurt us escapes punishment. When we refuse to forgive, we are telling God that we can punish that person better than He can - friends, that's pride -- God hates pride. When we refuse to forgive, we become trapped and enslaved by our own feelings. The person who has wounded us may not even know how we feel and are certainly not being held captive by our unforgiveness. We are! Unforgiveness makes us angry all the time. Unforgiveness makes us focus on that person or the hurt all the time. Unforgiveness causes us to relive hurt over and over again. It causes us to focus on ourselves and our hurt all the time!
When we make the choice to forgive - we release that person over to God to handle. When we forgive, we are able to think about other things because we have allowed God to have control over that person and that situation. When we forgive, we have the benefit of our prayers being heard again and our relationship with the Lord being restored and our lives becoming fruitful again. When we forgive, we release the consequences of another person's crime, hurt or action over to God to do according to His Word and His Will.
Forgiveness really isn't a hard thing to do...holding a grudge takes much more energy and thought. Forgiveness offers freedom if we'll allow it.
I think people make a much bigger deal out of not forgiving others because they make it much bigger than it is. If we can just accept the real definition of forgiveness as "giving up our right to punish" and walk in the freedom of that meaning then it will help us to gain a better perspective on why God chooses to forgive us for our sins.
Remember, we will be forgiven according to the measure we forgive. We will be judged according to the way we judge. We will be blessed according to the way we bless others. I don't know about you, but I am not perfect...I need forgiveness on a regular basis for my thoughts, words and actions. I don't want to be judged according to the way I treat others when I act out of unforgiveness. I'd much rather be blessed because I am a blessing to others. My sins put Jesus on that cross - so did yours and so did the person who hurt you. "All of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23.
The older I get, the more I realize how imperfect I am. I also realize how great God's grace is. There have been too many times when I've said things I didn't mean, did things I didn't intend to and hurt others because I was hurting. I don't deserve God's forgiveness, His favor, His mercy -- His Grace -- none of us do. If God held a grudge, I'd be doomed. But I'm not! And none of us has to be!
Dear sister or brother, if unforgiveness has wrapped it's chains around your heart and you've lost your joy -- whether you are in the best or the worst of circumstances, please relinquish your pride and choose, THIS DAY, to give up your right to punish those who have hurt you. If you feel as though your prayers aren't being heard or answered, consider that there may be someone who needs to be forgiven -- and it may be yourself. We're all so hard on ourselves and other people these days...Let's choose to Walk in the light as you are in the Light! Grace, Mercy and Forgiveness are fruits of the Spirit and bring so much freedom into our own lives.
If God can forgive us for putting His Son on the cross because of our sin -- I believe we have the obligation to forgive others when they hurt us...
Matthew 5:44-48: But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.
Be blessed in Jesus' Name! Love you!! Amy
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