Forgiveness

Since you became a believer do you ever feel rejected by family members, neighbors and friends?  Do you pray for them and reach out to them in love, only to feel rejected and shunned so you wonder why?  Sometimes it seems no matter what you do, you get rejected when you are living a consistent Christian life.  Sometimes it can be so discouraging when you really care for these people and want them to be saved but they just don’t seem to get it.

If you feel this way, I want you to know that you are in good company.  All the disciples felt the same way at times, totally rejected, just like we have been at times and so has every other true believer all down through the ages from the beginning of time up to the present time.  Rejection is a hard thing to handle but, if you are a true believer, you will experience it so don’t be shocked when it happens.  This is where I think many believers get confused, and because of this confusion many get angry and bitter at people instead of the real culprit who is your enemy.

We are so used to the concept of fighting with people so often in our past life, that we have the misconception that we are still battling against people when we become believers.  Your enemy wants you to think that way so that you will get angry and bitter with people to the point that you will want to take revenge and be completely unwilling to forgive.  Jesus said if we do not forgive others we will not be forgiven.  

If you have a problem with this then I suggest that you say the Lord’s Prayer, the one that He taught His disciples in Matthew 6:9-13, “So when you pray, you should pray like this:

‘Our Father in heaven,

may your name always be kept holy.

May your kingdom come

and what you want be done,

    here on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us the food we need for each day.

Forgive us for our sins,

    just as we have forgiven those who sinned against us.

And do not cause us to be tempted,

but save us from the Evil One.’ [The kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours forever. Amen.]”

It also says this in Ephesians 4:29-32, “Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.”

If we live with bitterness and unforgiveness, we can grieve the Holy Spirit and make Him very sad.  We need to forgive, just as Jesus has forgiven us for our multitudes of sins.  Paul warns against all of these things in our lives. Question: are you pleasing or grieving the Holy Spirit by your conduct and the way you live?  There are also references on forgiving in Matthew 6:14-15, 18:35, and Mark 11:25; check them out if you want to know more on this subject.  If you have never learned to forgive maybe you have never become one with Christ!  When we become one with Christ we will try to imitate Him in our lives.

We need to heed these things; there is a warning in Hebrews about refusing to listen.  Read these verses in Hebrews 12:14-17, “Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled; lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears.”

We see, in Esau’s situation, that some sins have lasting consequences.  Even repentance and forgiveness do not always eliminate God’s consequences.  How often have you made decisions on what you want right know instead of thinking about how it may affect you in the long term?  Think about the long term affect your decisions will make in your life.  When we get angry with people and live in unforgiveness, we are in a dangerous place, so if this is you please make the right decision and forgive from the heart.  If you think about this, it may make forgiveness a little bit easier, it is found in Ephesians 6:12, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”  Your real fight is against the evil one and his hoard of demons that influence people, not the people themselves.

I hope this Tidbit will be of some help in this battle.  Don’t forget to put on the whole armor of God and resist the evil one and he will have to flee from you, praise the Lord.  Something to think about!  May the Lord bless you and yours and have a super day.  P.S.  Don’t forget to thank and praise the Lord.