By David ReayWednesday 11 Jun 2014LifeWords DevotionalsFaithReading Time: 0 minutes
Transcript:
Read Colossians 3:13
Make allowance for each other’s faults,and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember,the Lord forgave you,so you must forgive others. (NLT)
We have quite a bit of difficulty with applying such texts on forgiveness: it is hard work and utterly unnatural. It is hard to forgive those who have hurt us,but we make it harder for ourselves by seeking to forgive those who don’t need to be forgiven.
To illustrate-can we really forgive others for failing to give us what only God can ultimately provide? When our partners,our pastors,our friends fail to live up to all our expectations,do we embark on a futile attempt to forgive them? How can we forgive them for being merely human? We don’t forgive others for simply being imperfect. We don’t forgive human beings for not being God.
Linked to this,we have no need to forgive ourselves for not being God to others. When we fail to give them what only God can give,we need not forgive ourselves. It is no sin to be merely human. We do our stumbling best but in the end we fall short of perfection. We dare not beat ourselves up for being fallible mortals.
When others deeply wound us or we do similarly to them,then we need to tackle this demanding yet liberating process of forgiveness. But save it for when it is really needed. Extending forgiveness when it is required is hard enough without wrestling with it when it is not required.
Blessings
David Reay