Lighthouse
Jan 15, 2023
I am currently reading a book on radical forgiveness. The author talks about various people who forgave the unthinkable. He compares it to Christ and His forgiveness. The book reveals that often when we are offended we think "there are only 2 options payment or punishment, but Christ offers a different option pardon." As Christians, we are to be like Christ. Lord help me to release those who attack me and suffer the loss myself, pardoning them of there sin against me. We cannot use the excuse, "well that was Jesus" because Stephen did the same thing as He was being stoned. I want to be more like Jesus.
As I meditated on forgiveness today I kept getting the impression of “action” that can only be produced through love, and that love first starts with the love Jesus has for us. When we realize how much He paid because of love we are able to love and forgive others also. Something that has really been stirring in my Spirit these past days is “If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?” 1 John 4:20 KJV I’m not trying to shift the focus away from forgiveness, but I believe without love it impossible to forgive, especially those who don’t believe they’ve done anything that requires forgiveness. In addition, love is a choice which also makes forgiveness a choice. The last thought that has been running through my mind is, if we are truly fixed on Jesus, offense and hurt become irrelevant. While this is a very challenging task, we are instructed to always look at Jesus. “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.” Hebrews 12:1-2 NLT