MFT27

I've been thinking about the idea of forgiveness today and want to share a few thoughts about the topic. The importance of forgiveness is so often overlooked. We think we can carry a grudge within us without it doing any damage to our physical, emotional and spiritual wellbeing. However we are so wrong! Jesus knew this when he told us so plainly when Peter asked, "How many times must I forgive." Jesus response was immediate, "seventy times seven." In other words we must forgive no matter how often we think we have been wronged.

Not to forgive is to be imprisoned by the past.

To carry a grudge destroys the very fiber of our being. We may not recognize it, but our inner spirit is torn apart and we are no longer the person we were meant to be. We are not hurting others nearly as much as we are destroying ourselves.

Not to forgive is to be yielding ourselves to another's control. If one does not forgive, then one is controlled by another's initiatives and he becomes locked into a succession of act and response, tit for tat, what- ever you can do I can do better, ever increasing with intensity. The present is gradually more plagued by the past.

It is a never ending cycle that will eventually destroy the person who refuses to follow the simple advice of our Lord. For he said very plainly that if we do not forgive our fellowmen their tresspasses, neither will Our Heavenly Father forgive us our tresspasses. What could be more plain and simple than that?

An intolerant attitude is detrimental to personal relationships. It can destroy marriages, cause serious friction in church fellowships. The damage is far more than most people realize. Psychologists and church counselors know far too well the results of an unforgiving spirit.

But to forgive is to be free from the past.

We need to forgive regardless of the circumstances. If the other person does or does not know that he or she has harmed you. It's up to you to forgive for your own personal well being. I have heard people say "I can forgive, but I can't forget." That is not forgiveness!

To be sure it is much easier to forgive another if they have admitted their wrong doing, but whether that is the case or not WE MUST BE WILLING TO FORGIVE!

We must realize that forgiveness is needed not so much for the wrong that we feel has been done to us, but because of the resent- ment that builds up within us toward the other person. Lack of forgiveness causes this anger and resentment to fester up within and it destroys our whole personality. No one wants to continue a relation- ship with us. Therefore we need to face up to our anger and hurt toward others and determine to find ways to really forgive and forget the wrongs we have felt.

Forgiveness frees and heals the one who does the forgiving.

That's my 'Thought for Today', friends. May the Lord help you to have a forgiving spirit!