Model Forgiveness
OPENING PRAYER:
God, quiet my heart today as I come before you. Open my eyes to the refining work you would like to do in my life.
READ:
“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” Ephesians 4:32 (NIV)
REFLECT:
Forgiveness is hard. It may be one of the most difficult things you have ever had to do. Sometimes an offense is so big and hurtful that forgiveness seems unachievable. Sometimes forgiveness just seems too big and out of reach.
Our anger, pain, hurt and sense of justice can act as barriers to forgiveness. Our minds and our hearts can hold us back from setting this burden down. Unforgiveness weighs us down. Holding on to our resentment and heartache can harden our hearts and make us bitter.
The cross is God’s ultimate act of forgiveness. By granting us free will so that we could love him by choice, God allowed for the possibility of us rejecting him and his wisdom. Through this choice, sin entered the world. This sin has separated us from God. Since God is perfectly just, this sin keeps us from being in right relationship with him. God loves us so unconditionally, despite all our wrongdoing, he pursues us. God offers his grace and forgiveness to us. This grace and forgiveness all culminate at the cross. Jesus died to atone for our sin. Justice was paid by the life of God’s son.
If our offense against God, which is so great that I cannot even fathom it, can be forgiven, then how much easier should it be for us to forgive others when they wrong us. This does not mean that forgiveness will always be easy or neat. Pastor Andy Stanley says, “In the shadow of my hurt, forgiveness feels like a decision to reward my enemy. But in the shadow of the cross, forgiveness is merely a gift from one undeserving soul to another.”
APPLY:
Is there someone in your family or circle of friends that you need to forgive? Consider where you may need to offer forgiveness this week or where you may need to ask for forgiveness. If you do not feel ready to offer forgiveness, continue to pray that God will help you work through your feelings. You may need to seek wise counsel or even more professional help to assist you while you work through your experiences.
CLOSING PRAYER:
God, help me to see who I may need to forgive. Be with me as I work through any feelings of anger, hurt or resentment that might make it more difficult to offer forgiveness. You are a loving and faithful God and I know you will be with me as I travel down this road to forgiveness.