Our goal today is to leave here with a fresh desire to see through God’s eyes and to love and forgive with His heart.
When God comes into our lives He turns our values and ways of thinking upside down!
…And the Lord who is the Spirit – makes us more and more like Him
as we are changed into His glorious image.
2 Corinthians 3:18
Why should we choose to forgive?
1. It’s the upside to our every down.
The world’s images of perfection can cause frustration and despair: how we look, our possessions, our positions, etc. Seeing through God’s eyes sets us free to be who He made us to be and to live the life He intended. It allows us to see ourselves and others in terms of possibilities, and perfection as a matter of character and heart.
It begins with believing that God is who He says He is, that we need a Savior, and that we want Him to come into our life and be Lord. It’s a choice - one that reaches out and accepts God’s forgiveness.
2. It’s part of our “loving others”
Receiving His forgiveness is the beginning place for our ability to extend mercy to others.
You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. The second is equally important: Love your neighbor as yourself.
Matthew 22:37-39
For God to say that loving others is equally important to loving Him raises the bar to the highest possible point.
Should loving our neighbors be that hard? After all, we have a lot in common with those “others”:
We all want forgiveness. No one wants people to be angry with them.
We’re all selfish, weird, and have “issues”. Why do we have such a problem with other
people being weird? Are we under the impression that we’re not??
All find relationships hard. We’ve all done things to offend and hurt. Let’s give the other guy
a pass.
We’re all equal at the foot of the cross. Our God is an equal-opportunity God. We should be
equal-opportunity people.
If not for the grace of God….
We better be careful how we judge or punish someone else.
But for God’s grace, that could be us.
3. It’s God’s invitation to a great life.
God’s design: right with Him, right with others.
It’s how God created us to function.
What’s a truly great life look like?
Peace, love, family, hope, compassion, joy, truth, faith,
trust…. We may
lose much in this world, but these things cannot be taken from us. They
make for a great life.
Yes, forgiveness can be hard – and we’re going to blow it sometimes. Nobody said we’ll become like God overnight. But it needs to be our desire, our passion.
Biblical wisdom on forgiveness:
1. What happens when I choose not to forgive?
Here’s what we can expect:
a. The seeds of disobedience will bear fruit.
b. Intensified anger. It has a rotting effect on the mind, character, and heart.
c. Reliving the painful experience over and over.
The consequences of unforgiveness are known. It is a path to loneliness.
If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you.
But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.
Matthew 6:14, 15
2. How can I begin to forgive?
a. Identify the people who have hurt you – write their names down.
Ask God to help you overcome your anger.
b. Write down what the person owes you. What do you want from them?
Is it something they have the power to give you?
c. Cancel their debt. Jesus Christ died to release you from your debt of sin.
Release them from whatever you feel they owe you.
You must make allowance for each other’s faults and forgive the person who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.
Colossians 3:13
Focus on God, His love, and the high price He paid to forgive you,
not the person or the offense.
That’s what it takes to see as God sees and forgive with His heart.
It’s God’s pathway to a truly Great Life.
Application Thoughts:
Meditate for a few minutes on your need for the gift of God’s forgiveness and the price Jesus paid for it.
Are you weighted down with anger or resentment toward someone who has hurt you? Is that anger worth more to you than peace and joy and the full life that God intends for you?
Consider taking the steps above and begin to forgive. God will help you. And once you lay it down you will be free to move on – lighter and unrestricted.
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