Today’s exhortation – forgiveness is no joke
I believe I’ll be doing us a disservice if I talk about God’s blessings and don’t also talk about how we might be robbed of them. Refusing to forgive robs us of blessings such as peace and joy. Forgiveness is very powerful and has the capacity to do so much for us including setting us free from bitterness, hurt, anger etc. It does more for us than the person we are not forgiving. It’s also essential because Jesus said if we don’t forgive, neither will we be forgiven. A dear friend made a comment about forgiveness which I agree with. He said, “it’s not easy especially when the person makes a habit of it.” The fact is, the Christian life is not easy.
I don’t think anyone can forgive in their own strength, but we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us and The Holy Spirit is here to help us too. One might ask, how many times must we forgive? Peter asked the Lord the same thing, He said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.” (Matthew 18:21-22). How often would we like to be free? My guess is all the time so that’s how often we ought to forgive. May God continue to give us grace to do it. Amen
Francis Hans-Jorie
