I used to think I didn’t hold grudges. I thought I could forgive freely even when it wasn’t deserved. Well I see now how my I might have been telling myself that in my head but my heart wasn’t in it. There was a night at training camp that rocked my world. It was the night we talked about forgiveness.
The cross: it’s a shape, it’s a symbol, it’s a commonly worn piece of jewelry, or a tattoo. I wonder, do people really know what it represents when they talk about it,wear it, or draw it? You might be thinking yes of course, they know it means Jesus died on it for our sins. Which yes, that is what it represents but I want to unpack that a little more.
The reason Jesus suffered, endured, was persecuted, mocked and laughed at, and ultimately died on that cross was so that people could be forgiven. In fact as He was hanging on the cross suffering to his demise 2,000 years ago He spoke, ” Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34) Even during his persecution and all the hurt that came with that Jesus was still asking God to forgive the people that persecuted him! That blows my mind! When I remind myself of this forgiveness it makes me ashamed that I’m holding on to things that are so temporary and so trivial.
The truth is that we as people are sinners. We sin everyday but we have the opportunity to be forgiven just by asking. It’s that simple. Jesus died so that we could understand the depth and importance of forgiveness. Never again will anyone on this earth have to endure a gruesome persecution in order to obtain forgiveness. God has made it so easy to receive forgiveness now that all we have to do is ask!
Every day, I choose to ask the Lord for forgiveness and I know that as a follower of Jesus I am granted that forgiveness. In addition, every day I make a decision to try and live a life walking hand in hand with Jesus. I want to exemplify Him, I want to talk with Him, I want to honor Him, I want people to see Him and know Him because of me. But how can I say and do all these things with unforgiveness in my heart?
The truth is unforgiveness is like a self induced disease. When I think of the people that have hurt me or wronged me I don’t think positive Christ-like thoughts towards them. I think, “How could they have said that to me? Why would they intentionally want to hurt me? I did nothing to deserve this. Why me? Why would they do that to me? What’s wrong with them?” NO! What’s wrong with me? Shame on me! Shame on my heart. Where is it? Where is the love of Jesus in me? Where is the love of Jesus in my heart? Where is any indication that I understand and apply the same kind of forgiveness that Jesus gave those who persecuted them? It’s not there, not when I’m overcome with a spirit of self-pity and a poor me attitude. The truth is that none of us are perfect and that people unintentionally and intentionally will hurt one another.
I made a decision at training camp. It actually didn’t happen the night we talked about forgiveness or even the next day. I tried, I cried, I confessed, I asked the Lord to work in my heart and soften it so that I could forgive those who wronged me. It took three days before I felt free. I felt free from the chains of unforgiveness, I felt lighter, I could think of the people that hurt me and still be sad about the situation but realized I was no longer angry towards them, I no longer held them captive in this cage of unforgiveness. I let them go along with all negative feelings that came with the unforgiveness. Now, I’m not going to lie to you. Forgiveness is a daily decision for me. I wake up everyday and when I think of that hurt I have to remind myself that I gave that to God. I chose to forgive them and while that doesn’t make what they did right or take away the hurt it does break me free from the spirit of unforgiveness.
I realized that by choosing not to forgive I was only hurting myself. I was allowing my heart to be shaped by bitterness and anger. I was allowing the enemy to have a stronghold on that area of my life and as a follower of Jesus I don’t want to give the enemy any part of me. Jesus is the definition of forgiveness and if I am not willing to completely and wholeheartedly grant others forgiveness then why should I receive his? Not a single person on this earth is entitled or deserving of forgiveness but because Jesus loves us he chose to give it to us that day on the cross.
So I come to you now with an active spirit of forgiveness in my heart asking you to join me in freedom. By harboring grudges, anger, and unforgiveness the only person being hurt is you. While the person that hurt you might be aware they also might not care about the effects of their actions. At the end of the day your example of Christ is what influences people. Let Him guide you and choose everyday to forgive the undeserving just as Christ forgave us.
View the cross as a true symbol of forgiveness and remember that none of us deserve it but Christ gave it, just as we should.
Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. Ephesians 4:32
Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. Indeed, what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ, so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs. 2 Corinthians 2:10-11
If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. 1 John 4:20
Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Colossians 3:12-13
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