"Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate
hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another
and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord
has forgiven you, so you also must forgive."
(Col. 3:12, 13)
Many of us have that has done some hurtful thing to us or to somebody that
we love. We hold on to hurt like badges
at times, often making them vendettas, grudges or even worse things. Resentments
like these tear you up from the inside out. They rob us of joy and appreciation
of life. It is also a sad thing when believers tell themselves, “I know the
Christian thing to do is to forgive, so I will. I will forgive him as soon as
he gives me an apology.” The problem with
this is that we are clouding the issue with a lie. The truth is, that person
may never ask you for forgiveness or say they are sorry, because they may not
even realize what they have done. So we end up stewing over something that the
other person has either long ago forgotten, or doesn't even realize. And we are
the one that suffers, and if we aren't careful that suffering can be eternal.
Jesus, even dying on the cross shows us that things like this can be let
go. “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke
23:34). Paul echoes this in Col.3:12,13 "Put on then, as God's chosen
ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and
patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another,
forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.
These verses are not a bad one to memorize and carry with you throughout the
day, because we will have plenty of chances to use them. It is also interesting
that Paul's choice of words here with regard to "bearing with" means
“to bear with, to endure, to be tolerant.” Basically it means to cut people
some slack. Jesus reiterated this, “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be
shown mercy” Matthew 5:7. One of the ways you receive mercy, is by being
merciful.
What hurt are you still holding onto? Be aware that hurts like these open a
plethora of Pandora boxes with regard to things we will justify because of
them. Drug abuse, marriage troubles, job
issues, family troubles and more. Things like this don't cause just me to
suffer, everyone I'm connected to will hurt because of me to some degree or
another.
What do you need to do today so that your hurt does not turn into
resentment? Are you letting God have your life and heart, or just telling
yourself this wile secretly worshipping pain and resentments?
"Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate
hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another
and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord
has forgiven you, so you also must forgive."
Jim
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