Forgiveness Is Freedom

 Forgiveness Is Freedom

Ever had an experience where you gave trust and love with abandon, but you were “burned” in the end?

You know.

Went out of your way for someone, but not only did you not get a bit of recognition, you were criticized for it.

Transgressions, or abuses, against us are very difficult to ignore or let go of. Often, we say to ourselves that we’ll forgive the person, but we know we won’t forget.

Speaking of transgressions, when inspecting my life, I see that my transgressions against God are enormous.

Yet God has forgiven me.

Unbelievably, He has moved my sins away from Him, as far as the East is from the West.

God forgives me, but commands that I forgive others in the same way. He tells me in Matthew 6:14-15, “For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. But, if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.” (NASB95)

Also, and here is the tough part, Philippians 2:3 says, “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves;”

Forgiveness flows like a deep, slow river washing away those painful relationships. Communion with God, unencumbered by conflict with others, is the greatest, most joyful and liberating feeling you can have.

Ponder how your soul feels when you have forgiven someone and moved on. Try it. Your life will change.

Loving God, Your unimaginable love for us is the source of Your Grace. When we consider our sinful natures, our only hope for avoiding eternity in the lake of fire is Your forgiveness. With Your forgiveness bathing our eternal souls, let us heed Your command to forgive others. Help us experience communion with You, freed from the sin of vengeance and selfish pride, putting others first. Love is the most important command. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Soli Deo Gloria

 

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Is Your Light on Dim?

  Is Your Light on Dim? Our Bible study group decided that, for a change, we would read and discuss a new book. It details how Christ’s Church today is looking much like His Church in Germany in the mid-thirties. When Hitler rose to power. Then, there were only a few pastors alarmed at his power grab while the vast majority saw no problems. The result was that the German church was co-opted by the Nazis, giving them credibility and sway with the public. The silence of these church pastors “voiced” what the congregants saw; “God” approving of Hitler. In hindsight, we see how silence in the face of evil, is evil. In Matthew 5:14-16, Jesus says, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, it gives light to all that are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” (NASB95) In my s...
Read more

How Life Could Be

  We awaken, heart pounding, adrenaline beginning to surge, wondering how the bits and bytes of disaster news will affect us today. What has happened? Life was so predictable, even boring, but certainly no more. Nothing is as it was. Amid the wrenching changes of life, it is good to know there is hope! You know change is relentless and racing to affect us. You can believe that life came about in some mindless, big bang, no reason, no purpose, no hope, way. Or you can believe that “In the beginning, God…”, who created heaven and earth, has a purpose for us. God brings hope and here is the good part: He provided an instruction manual for us. Life makes sense, and isn’t this what we crave, when viewed through the pages of the Bible. Take the Ten Commandments. Ever look at each one? Morning newsfeeds would be much different if everyone followed them. And, when you look at each one, don’t they make perfect sense? · The first four commandments deal with your relationship with...
Read more

Are You Salty?

    I love salt! My wife claims that she adds it when she cooks, but I think her fingers are crossed. I always need to add a bit more. She says it’s bad for my heart but, thank the Lord, I don’t have any issues. I don’t know about you, but I love salt on beef, chicken, potatoes, and vegetables. Oh, and those crispy, oily, salty snacks are my favorite—you know the ones. Wikipedia states that salt was a contributing factor to the success of civilization. It preserved food and enabled ancient man to be nourished regardless of the time of the year. It made food taste better. Salt is good! In the Old Testament, we learn that salt was valued. It was to be included in meat sacrifices at the temples to offer the very best to God. Matthew Henry’s commentary on Matthew 5 stated if sinful man, corrupt and putrid flesh that he is, is being offered to God, he needs to be salted as well. Jesus mentioned salt, and I tried to convince my wife that he wanted us to eat salt. She did...
Read more