Colossians 3:13 “Bear with each other, and forgive each other. If someone does wrong to you, forgive that person because the Lord forgave you” (NCV).
Now, this seems simple to do in theory when you have no one to forgive in the present. However, forgiveness is tough when it gets personal. Maybe you said “I’m over it. That guy (or girl) hurt me years ago, ” or “that group hurt me (or that group of people)” but it has been a long time since “it” happened, falsely believing that only time could heal all wounds (both physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually). But sadly, that is not true. That hurt only stays dormant at best.
Yet how is the Lord going to relate to us, people in the world, people saved by His blood? Unfortunately for humanity, the answer is quite simple and hard to put into practicality. That answer is to forgive in Christ. Why do I add “in Christ”? To TRULY forgive, you must have Christ within you which opens Christians up to anything including being hurt over and over again.
Yet, isn’t that what Jesus Christ did 2000 years ago? In His 3 year of going out to make Himself known through unusual circumstances, Christ suffered ridicule on His character, His physical being was demeaned, His emotions, mental, and even His spiritual being took a beating all the way up through His death. So, according to 1 Peter 2:21 (For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you LEAVING YOU AN EXAMPLE, so that you might follow in His steps {ESV}), how do you (including myself) properly forgive?
Often times, Christians (myself included) hold onto their bad memories of when they were hurt, reliving it over and over again. If you are truly a Christian (Christ-like), then truly forgive! Jesus Christ doesn’t care if you have to forgive more than once over the same incident. He knows the intimate parts about us, and during His death on the cross, He experienced every sin known to man. Jesus Christ is offering you true forgiveness. Now, it is your turn. Offer true forgiveness to someone who has hurt you, and let the rest up to the Holy Spirit who lives inside you. 😇
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