Through the years I have been presented with many opportunities to forgive. Sometimes the situation was so severe that it took me some time to forgive and start the process of healing for myself, and eventually for others. I learned that a Christian needs to forgive other people even if they have not repented of their sins. That can be really hard if we let it be. But if we give our burdens over to the Lord, He will carry them and that frees us up to treat other people with love, compassion, and be in the right frame of mind and heart to set them up for reconciliation with Jesus Christ. That does not mean we tolerate their sin. We simply forgive them for what they have done to us, whether perceived or real, and move on to looking for ways to redeem them. We can then present to them the “truth in love” even when we have to rebuke them.
When I found myself having difficulty in “letting go” of an offense (either real or perceived), I asked myself “What would Jesus do?” And, of course, the answer became crystal clear…immediately!
He drew a circle that shut me out –
Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout.
But love and I had the wit to win;
We drew a circle that took him in!
(Edwin Markham)
ONE + GOD = A MAJORITY
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