Matthew 6:14-15 (NKJV)
“For if you forgive men their trespasses, our heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”
None of us are perfect. We all have areas where The Lord needs to work on us. Thing is, it usually requires effort on our part to make it happen. We have to actually do something. We respond to His guidance to bring about change. He walks us through the learning process in such a way that we understand and can submit to His way of living in that area. Then, after we think we have it, the Lord usually sends a similar test our way to make sure it is solidly set within us.
This week was that for me. You may remember a post from a few weeks ago about forgiveness ( if you missed it – check the archives on the blog site). I had learned the lesson by completing the full cycle of forgiveness for someone who had made an offense toward me. But this week I was reminded of an individual who had made an offense toward someone I dearly love and forgiveness was nowhere in the picture.
The Lord reminded me of my own words. Don’t you hate it when He does that? Those words were clear in my ear and I had to deal with this new life circumstance in the same way I had dealt with the other one. Submission and obedience.
I fought it. I did not want to forgive. I told The Lord what a poor example of Christianity that person was. I reminded Him of the offense and how I had every right to be angry and unforgiving toward that person. It was true… but who does that remind you of? Yep… the devil himself… the “accuser of the brethren.”
So I was back where I had started weeks ago, just in a different circumstance. I was having to choose to forgive someone who didn’t deserve forgiveness, all because Christ forgives me when I don’t deserve it.
I’d like to say I passed this test with flying colors, but it has been a struggle. I haven’t been able to finish the forgiveness cycle yet… but I’m on the path. I’ve made the choice to forgive. Now I have to walk it out to completion. Same lesson, harder scenario. But isn’t God good to not leave us in the “novice” stage of lessons learned? He gives us opportunity over and over again to walk out the faith He has given us. It is a rinse and repeat cycle where, hopefully, in the end, we’ll have no dirty baggage from this world and HE will receive glory.