I heard a great message this past Sunday on forgiveness and it reminded me of this poem. I realize it is part of our human nature to harbor hurts and hold grudges. But the thing is, if you are going to truly live the Christian life, our human nature is the thing we should trust the least. I have been on both sides of the equation and I can tell you from experience that there is a freedom of spirit that is a natural byproduct on both sides, whether you are the forgiver or the forgiven. The key, at least for me, to be able to make forgiving an immediate response, is to keep in mind all that Jesus suffered in order to offer me....
Forgiveness
Forgiveness
is a choice we make
A decision to release
The hurts and disappointments
And lay them at Jesus feet
We have no right to hold them
Or the bitterness they breed
After all that Christ has done for us
It’s His mercy that we need
To show to those around us
No matter what they’ve done
A tender and a loving heart
As seen in God the Son
Father, help me to remember
All you’ve done for me
Forgiving my transgressions
Please help me to clearly see
With all that my soul owes
The least that I can do
Is to be kind, forgiving others
And in me let them see You
Eph. 4:32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one
another, even as God for Christ's sake hath
forgiven you.
How
often do we allow our pride to convince us that we are entitled to our hurts
and bitternesses over something
someone else has done? Yet if we will only
take a moment and honestly reflect on all that
God has forgiven us of, including every wrong thought or motive and every
hurtful word or wicked deed, then I
believe it becomes much easier for us to forgive others and to release the bitterness that will only harm ourselves.
