As the month passed I wondered what I was going to write for our August issue of Christian Online Magazine. Darlene started putting on the heat for my article and I knew that I had better come up with something and soon. As always in my times of desperation I went to our Lord and asked Him what He would have me write. Within the hour, while listening to the local Christian radio station, God told me to write about Forgiveness.
This past week I have been counseling with a man who is going through emotional problems with a lady he thinks he loves. He holds a lot of hard feelings against this lady for things that she has done to him in the past, and being human I can understand his hardness. As a Christian I can see very clearly that if he would come to Jesus and learn to forgive her, his anguish and hurt would pass and he would be a much happier man and that would in turn lead to a happier relationship. Colossians 3:13 says, "You must make allowance for each others faults and forgive the person who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others."
I remember listening to Bishop T.D. Jakes one evening back in May 1995, and he was talking about forgiveness. If you have ever listened to Bishop Jakes you know that he is a very colorful speaker. The way he taught us about forgiveness was simple; God is going to forgive us in the same way that we forgive others. Bishop Jake put it kind of like this; if our way of forgiving someone was to take a baseball bat and beat him or her, then we should be prepared for God to take out His baseball bat and forgive us in the same way. In the same manner, if our way of forgiving someone is to forgive him or her as our Lord Jesus Christ would forgive, then God will forgive us with the same love.
Forgiveness is a truly healing act. Have you ever noticed that when you are living life with some type of anger against someone that hurt you in some way, you are always wound up and the thought of what they did just burns inside you. Yet after you have got over what was done to you and you have forgiven that individual, you are more relaxed and at ease. Forgiveness of that person let you heal emotionally and life became far more pleasant. Matthew 18:21-22 Then Peter came to Him and asked, "Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?" "No!" Jesus replied, "Seventy times seven!" Don't keep score of the number of times that you have forgiven a person. Just let the love of Jesus continue inside you and keep forgiving that person.
We have all sinned and none of us are worthy of God's forgiveness, yet He continues to love us and to forgive us. David sang of God's forgiveness in Psalms 65:3 "Though our hearts are filled with sins, you forgive them all." And again in Psalms 86:5 David sings, "O Lord, you are so good, so ready to forgive, so full of unfailing love for all who ask your aid." Now if God can forgive us for all of the wrongs that we have done, who are we that we won't forgive those who we feel have wronged us?
The power of forgiveness is immeasurable. Jesus put it to us very plainly when He said, "For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men of their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins." Matthew 6:14-15. That may seem like an easy thing to do, but anyone who has struggled with pain and anger knows that it takes enormous power to really forgive - to put aside one's hurt and reach out to an offender with the embrace of forgiveness. On the other side, forgiveness can release the wrongdoer from paralyzing guilt, and even turn around the course of that person's life.
Forgiveness is as powerful as the healing of a paralytic. And it's a power that Jesus has delegated to His followers. Is the power of forgiveness in you?
Copyright 2002 Steven R. Ridenour
