I love the story of two friends who were walking through the desert. During some point of the journey, they had an argument, and one friend slapped the other one in the face. The one who got slapped was hurt, but without saying anything, wrote in the sand, "Today my best friend slapped me in the face. They kept on walking until they found an oasis, where they decided to take a bath. The one who had been slapped got stuck in the mire and started drowning, but the friend saved him. After he recovered from nearly drowning, he wrote on a stone, "Today my best friend saved my life. His friend asked him, "After I hurt you, you wrote in the sand and now, you write on a stone, why?" The other friend replied "When someone hurts us, we should write it down in sand where winds of forgiveness can erase it away. But, when someone does something good for us, we must engrave it in stone where no wind can ever erase it. Forgiveness is precious to receive…but also to give. When we forgive someone who has hurt us, we release them from the bitterness and anger and even rage that the wound can give birth to. We are commanded to forgive because Christ has forgiven you. And if you say that you’ve received the forgiveness that Jesus purchased with his death on the cross and you cannot forgive others, then the reality of your forgiveness is not there. So how do you do the hard undertaking of forgiving others? First, we need to come to grips with the truth that forgiveness is not an option for those who have received it. When we forgive, we acknowledge our own need for God’s grace. And when you
forgive you reflect God’s character and display His grace in your life. You will need to pray for strength and courage to do this. And then God’s Holy Spirit will give you what you need to forgive those who don’t deserve to be forgiven. Because the awful truth is that you don’t deserve to be forgiven either. Nor do I. Forgive and declare the love of Christ for you and in you by your choice. Here’s our Bible verse for today…
Ephesians 4:31-32 BSB Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, outcry and slander, along with every form of malice. (32) Be kind and tenderhearted to one another, forgiving each other just as in Christ God forgave you.
Remember I'm praying for you,
PJ
forgive you reflect God’s character and display His grace in your life. You will need to pray for strength and courage to do this. And then God’s Holy Spirit will give you what you need to forgive those who don’t deserve to be forgiven. Because the awful truth is that you don’t deserve to be forgiven either. Nor do I. Forgive and declare the love of Christ for you and in you by your choice. Here’s our Bible verse for today…
Ephesians 4:31-32 BSB Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, outcry and slander, along with every form of malice. (32) Be kind and tenderhearted to one another, forgiving each other just as in Christ God forgave you.
Remember I'm praying for you,
PJ