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Forgiveness

75px-Harleianus_5557_%28first_page_of_Colossians%29[1]From Colossians 3:13-15 (NKJV):

13 bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. 14 But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. 15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.

Ever have a long-standing resentment against another human being?  I have -and know from firsthand experience that it eats away at your soul like a cancer.  I find that I don’t feel so great after a while and get a little tired of carrying that individual around in my back pocket.  The funny part is, most of the time, they aren’t even aware of how consumed I am with them!  It all goes on inside my own mind and trickles down into my heart and the rest of my being.

I have never been able to ask God to make me forgive somebody and have that happen without some footwork on my part.  A long time ago, I was told to pray for those I had resentments against – that they should be blessed in the same manner that I would want for myself or my loved ones.  Reluctantly, I tried that -and within a couple of weeks I no longer harbored the animosity I had previously carried and found that I felt much better for having let go of it.  A famous twelve step book refers to this practice in a story called “Freedom From Bondage.”

Feeling love for God (or even simply thinking about Him, for that matter) leaves no room in my heart for feelings of hatred or bitterness.  Like acid reflux disease, that sort of emotional upset tends to come up and burn when it does, leaving scarring and unhappiness and distracting me from that which I should be focused on.

.I depend on God’s forgiveness and love for my very existence, and would be unable to survive if I didn’t at least make some effort to forgive others – to be conscious of those bad feelings when they come up, acknowledge them and grow through grace into the kind of man Christ would have me be.

“…forgive us our sins as we forgive others.”  Remember who first uttered that?  His prayer is prayed throughout the world constantly each and every day and has been for over two thousand years.  The need is as vital now as it was then.

Do I write this for the reader or is it to remind me?  You decide.  I know what works for me.

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