I've never really struggled with forgiveness. When people came to me and said they were sorry for something, it seemed like I had already forgotten it and tossed it behind my back. But then it happened. Word and deeds were said and done that were designed intentionally to hurt, or so it seemed. People who claimed to love us, stood by and watched it happened and then criticized us for not being stronger. We began protecting ourselves and to pull in and then we were criticized for that. We kept waiting for someone to acknowledge their wrong and change their way or for someone to stand up and say STOP. But the attacks kept coming. We cried out to the Lord with the Psalmist when he said in Psalm 55 "Give ear to my prayer, O God, And do not hide Yourself from my supplication . . . I said Oh, that I had wings like a dove and I would fly away and be at rest."
Now I had a problem. This kind of forgiveness wasn't coming naturally. The only way I could begin to cope was to look at how God forgave us when He sent Jesus to die for us, even when we were sinners (Romans 5:8). And when He forgives he tosses it behind his back and never looks at it again, tossing them into the depths of the sea (Micah 7:19). We, on the other hand, when we forgive those that hurt us we want to go pick it up again and keep nursing the wound.
Rich illustrated this recently in a children's message. He gave each child a piece of candy and asked them to throw it behind them. He then talked about how God forgives us and never thinks about it again. Needless to say the kids couldn't walk away without their candy and most picked it up and took it with them.
What a reminder of ourselves. We say we forgive and then keep bringing it up again and again. To truly forgive means that we don't even think about it again. Ouch! This is so easy to say when we are thinking about others forgiving us, but it's a different story when we are the one who needs to do the forgiving.
When Jesus taught His disciples to pray he said to say:
. . .
And forgive us our trespasses
As we forgive those who trespasses against us
. . .
The next time Satan brings something from your past into your mind; some word or action you've already forgiven, grab a piece of candy and throw it behind your back!! When the pile gets big enough, have a "depths of the sea party" and eat them up.
See you there!!
3 comments:
I recently posted something about confession - I think that failure to regognize the NEED to forgive is sometimes a really big sin problem, and everyone is vulnerable to this one - it is so easy to not see it when we are really hurting ~ sometimes our struggles are so confounding because they are tangled up in so many things ~ thanks again for your thoughts <3
I'm faced with seeing someone every week who wronged me and has never apologized. I tell myself "maybe they truly don't think they did anything wrong". Sometimes it helps. Sometimes it doesn't.
And sometimes, you extend forgiveness - a King-Size candy bar of forgiveness - but the other person isn't interested in accepting it! At those times, I remind myself, I am only responsible for MY response.
I'm going to buy a bag of candy :) Great words of wisdom. Thank you.
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