"This is how my
heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart."
Matthew 18:35
Lord Jesus, people do damage to me. Usually it's the people I love. Each time I'm wronged, I have a choice: forgive, retaliate, or get revenge. My job, according to your Word, is to forgive the debt; absorb it. It is a kind of suffering, to refuse to make them pay for what they did.* Lord, extending your grace feels back-breaking at times... until I remember your sacrifice for me.
Don't ever let me forget that your patience toward sinful me is without parallel. I have done damage. You, Lord Jesus, have absorbed the debt. Your forgiveness toward me humbles and empowers me to offer that same forgiveness, mercy, and love toward others. Let me be quick to let go of my 'right' to anger and hatred and instead forgive my family, friends, and neighbors from my heart.
*I lifted this phrasing from page 196 in Timothy Keller's 'The Reason for God'. It gave me a new understanding of forgiveness. Great book!
Don't ever let me forget that your patience toward sinful me is without parallel. I have done damage. You, Lord Jesus, have absorbed the debt. Your forgiveness toward me humbles and empowers me to offer that same forgiveness, mercy, and love toward others. Let me be quick to let go of my 'right' to anger and hatred and instead forgive my family, friends, and neighbors from my heart.
*I lifted this phrasing from page 196 in Timothy Keller's 'The Reason for God'. It gave me a new understanding of forgiveness. Great book!
great start Jane! look forward to reading more.
ReplyDeleteHey Jane, I like the way you in two paragraphs really get to the heart of forgiveness in this post. Thanks for sharing this! - Pete Kelly
ReplyDelete