If Colossians 3:13 (MSG) says, “Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you”, Why is it so difficult for us to forgive others horizontally just as fast as God forgives us vertically?
Well, the short answer to the question above is forgiveness doesn’t come easy. If someone has hurt, wounded, or abused you in some way, the last thing you’re thinking about is forgiving them. It’s more likely you’re thinking about punishing them and inflicting pain on them since they inflicted pain on you. Revenge, retribution, and payback is what most people think about when someone has injured them physically, emotionally, mentally, vocationally. and spiritually.
I’ll be the first to admit that it’s a good thing Jesus doesn’t share that vengeful mindset. None of us would have a chance. We’d all be in a big world
of trouble.
Let’s face it, we are all imperfect people. Therefore, on an ongoing basis imperfect people need a lot of forgiveness. More often than we’d like to admit, we need forgiveness from God and from others. The implications of that are mind-boggling, and vital for us to come to grips with. We all need to be forgiven, which means we are all surrounded by people that we will need to forgive.
I’ve heard it said, “Forgiveness is surrendering my right to hurt you for hurting me.”
If you are harboring any amount of unforgiveness and you want to break free before the commencement of a new year , I encourage you to LET IT GO and let me emphasize; LET IT GO JUST LIKE JESUS LET IT GO! It’s just a simple as that!
I get it, that’s easier said than done, but Romans 4:7-8 reminds us that, “Blessed are those whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never county against him.”
Here’s the deal, when you release that person’s debt(s), you will experience greater freedom versus harboring their debt(s) and the bottom line, you’ll better off! The quicker we do it, the easier it is. Let’s begin to behave as if we believe the Bible. In it, God tells us repeatedly what to do about those who offend us: love them, pray for them, bless them.
4GIVEN 