“And
whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him,
that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.
But if you do not forgive, neither will
your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.”
Mark 11:25-26
Jesus said it
and it’s very plain. If you have
ANYTHING against ANYONE, forgive them. If
you’re not going to forgive, God’s forgiveness is not available to you. Once again, the Lord instructs us to do
something that sounds like a heavy command.
But, forgiveness is really a burden lifter. It is a gift to us. As we forgive others, we are released from
the burden of carrying the anger, pain, and resentment of whatever wrong was
done to us. Once the offence is given to
God, we no longer have to carry the dread of the offender and we are free to
love them the way God wants us to.
What happens when we don’t forgive,
when we hold on to offense caused by the actions of another? When someone disrespects or hurts us, or does
something that you don’t agree with or consider unacceptable, the natural
inclination is to be offended. When you
are offended, holding on to feelings of hurt or disrespect, where is your
focus? In those times, your focus is on
YOU! That is the trap. It is exactly what the enemy intended. Assaults
against you, your sensitivities and those you care about are designed by the
enemy to cause you to take your eyes off Christ.
The word ‘offense’ is from the Greek
word ‘skandalon’. Skandalon is bait of a trap, a snare, or a
stumbling block. Think about it, you’re
walking along with a praise song in your heart, headed to a seat in the sanctuary
when Sister In-A-Bigger-Hurry-Then You rushes up and shoves you out of the way
& into a wall, so she can get to a seat.
(This has happened to me in church.)
When you realize what has been done to you, where does your mind
go? The trap has been baited, and what
happens next is up to you. You could
grab Sister I-A-B-H-T-Y by the back of her neck, tell her off with righteous indignation,
and label her as an inconsiderate, rude person that you and yours don’t want
anything to do with. Or you could forgive
the sister and continue on your way without your progress being hindered. Forgiveness doesn’t mean that the wrong done
to you is acceptable, it just means that you are not bound, hindered or defined
by it. You leave it where it needs to be – between the offender and God.
It is not always easy, but since the Lord told us to forgive
it has to be possible. He said, “If
you have anything against anyone, forgive him”.
So what do you do when it seems that you just can’t get there? Forgive
in faith. Take being offended captive and submit it to
the obedience of Jesus Christ. I admit,
I’ve had times when I’ve prayed, “Lord God, I’m having a hard time with this, so
I’m giving to you. I choose to forgive
in faith. And every time the enemy tries
to remind of this offense, I am going to turn my thoughts to You. I thank You for the gift of forgiveness, so I
don’t have to carry the burden of what’s been done to me. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen!”
Live a life of
forgiveness. As you focus on Jesus,
trust Him to release you from the prison of hurt, dread, and the burden of wrongs
done to you.
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