FORGIVENESS IS A CHOICE

 

“Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any; even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.”  (Colossians 3:13)

 

·        How can you forgive someone who has hurt you deeply? 

·        Why does God demand that we forgive people who have wronged us? 

 

As always, we must define forgiveness and see what the Scriptures tell us about forgiveness.  Forgiveness is the act of excusing or pardoning another’s sins against you.  Forgiveness is not something that comes easy to anyone, even Christians.  When someone has hurt us deeply, it is our natural instinct to want to take revenge or want some kind of ill-will to come upon them.  But, as followers of Christ, we must make the choice to forgive them of their trespasses as God has forgiven us of ours. 

 

Jesus Christ is always our ultimate example to follow.  When Jesus was being crucified, He asked the Heavenly Father to forgive them because they did not know what they were doing.  (Luke 23:34)  He is a man who was God in the flesh, who took on every sin burden of the world, who was mocked, spat upon, tortured and more and still had compassion upon those who didn’t accept Him as the Savior.

 

Well, I can hear some of you saying, “I’m not Jesus, so I can’t  forgive them for what they’ve done to me!”  “I don’t understand how God would want me to forgive them.”  Forgiveness is not a feeling or an emotion, it is a willful act of faith and obedience unto God.  Under our own power, we do not possess the ability to forgive.  It is through the power of the Holy Spirit and our personal relationship with Jesus that we can forgive the most hurtful and unspeakable acts committed against us.  And in turn, God will honor our commitment to obey Him and our desire to please Him when we can forgive those who have wronged us.  Our job is to forgive by faith (believing that it is already done) and God will complete the work of forgiveness in our hearts.  Isn’t that amazing?!  God will enable us to supernaturally forgive others who seem to be unforgivable by our faith and trust in Him.

 

“How can I experience true forgiveness?”  First, make the decision that you will forgive that person because God commanded you to.  (Remember the Lord’s Prayer?  Matthew 6:9-13)  Second, pray your way through it.  Continue to pray until the matter is settled in your heart.  (Matthew 18:21-22)  Third, try to see the person who wronged you as God sees them.  (John 3:16)  Remember, before you accepted Christ as you Lord and Savior, you were unlovable too!  Everyone is precious in God’s sight and He does not desire to see anyone perish.  (2 Peter 3:9)  This should be your attitude when you pray for them.  When you experience true freedom, then you will know that the work of forgiveness is complete.

 

If you choose not to forgive, you will suffer greatly. You are the one who  go through the most when you choose not to forgive.  You will experience emotional pain such as anger, bitterness and frustration.  You will experience physical pain such as headaches, backaches and other ailments.  There will also be spiritual consequences.  You will find it very difficult to communicate with God, to study His Word and to fellowship with His people.  You will become isolated and resentful with nothing more than an afghan and a cat to keep you company.  The Bible says in Matthew 6:14-16, “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you.  But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”

 

Don’t be that bitter, angry, resentful afghan wearing person that nobody wants to be around.  Ask God to give you a forgiving spirit that will show the world that you are a true follower of Jesus Christ.  (Matthew 5:43-48)  Make the choice today to forgive and experience God’s true freedom and blessings!