God Reminds Us About Forgiveness

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Then Peter asked Him, “Lord, how many times must I forgive the offenses of my brother or sister? Seven times?” Jesus answered, “No, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” – Matthew 18:21-22

I posted about forgiveness before.

Tackling more about God’s great capacity to forgive.

And yet, I don’t think I’m the best person to be talking about this.

Because, yes, I still struggle with it.

And this may ruin my credibility to preach about this virtue.

But today, it haunts me…

Catches my attention…

Telling me that it’s the right thing to do.

As I read the passages in Matthew, God again reminds me that one’s ability to forgive must be without limit.

God used the term seventy-seven times.

And it must never be about seeking revenge.

Because, really, where will revenge take us?

Well, most certainly not in heaven.

Because it would be difficult for us to allow God inside our hearts if we harbor hate.

Hate is definitely NOT God.

If it would be all about hate, then God wouldn’t send His Son, Jesus, to be nailed on the cross to save us, sinners.

But perhaps God knows that we are only human.

And He knows very well our limits.

And that we won’t be able to follow His words 100% of the time.

So He encourages us not to give up on practicing this virtue…

The way He never gave up on us and on our salvation, no matter how much we sinned against Him.

Let’s practice what we learned from the Bible today.

The way that God encourages us to do.

Take care and God bless! :-)

The Act Of Forgiveness

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And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins. – Mark 11:25

It still amazes me how God is able to forgive our sins so easily.

And why His love for us never wanes even if we’ve hurt Him so many times because of our sins.

And why He even sent His Son, Jesus to suffer bloody torture and be crucified on the cross just to save us from our sins.

What a magnificent God He is, isn’t He?

He is the omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient God and yet He is so humble.

I cannot imagine any human being able to forgive when his son is tortured to death.

I would only be able to hear that person’s cry for justice and sometimes, even vengeance.

But our Father in Heaven has such a great capacity to forgive.

He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” – Luke 24:46-47

It made me think of my shortcomings when it comes to applying this Christian virtue to myself.

You see, I am not the best person to be tackling about forgiveness because I fall short too many times.

I sometimes lose my temper over petty things.

And I have past hurts in my heart that I still refused to let go up to now.

So what right do I have to be talking about forgiveness when I am still in the process of learning it?

What I wish to do is to remind myself not to give up practicing this Christian virtue.

Even if it’s hard.

Even if it means getting hurt and then forgiving all over again.

Being human, we are not without limitations.

And when we have to experience pain over and over again, it can be emotionally taxing.

But this is where God’s strength comes in.

This is where we should ask Him to give us strength in our weaknesses and limitations.

This is a reminder that in order for us to truly forgive another person, we should work hand in hand with God.

Make God our leader.

And emulate the example of being able to infinitely forgive that He has shown us through His Son, Jesus.

Do you have any advice on forgiveness that you would like to share?

Take care and God bless! :-)

But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. – Matthew 5:44-45

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