A CALL TO FORGIVENESS
Scripture: Colossians 3:12-17
‘Forgiveness’ is a big word. It’s huge, even gigantic. Just seven letters, but it’s something that takes years to learn how to do well. And more than learning how to do it, it takes grace from God.
You see a lot of ugliness in life from an unwillingness to forgive. Many people can tell us stories of family feuds. Often money is at the centre. We hear of problems starting between family members who fight over the estate money after parents die. Or family members in business together get jealous of one another, start fighting over money or control and before long they are no longer talking. It may even come to lawsuits against one another. A lack of trust and inability to forgive does huge damage. When we can’t or won’t forgive each other relationships are destroyed more and more as time passes.
Husbands and wives, who won’t forgive, find the marriage drifting apart more and more. They might live under the same roof but there is no love. There’s hardly communication. And when they do communicate, it’s usually more fuel on the fire. There’s no good will between them. No willingness to give their spouse the benefit of the doubt. Words and actions are misunderstood and the meaning twisted. In most cases, the marriage eventually ends because none of us can live under such intense pressure for a long time.
People who won’t forgive wrongs done in the workplace grow increasingly bitter. They resent the employee or employer who wronged them. And that grows into bitterness that clouds our vision so we can’t be objective anymore. We see nothing but negative things in our workplace and eventually we either quit or get fired because our attitude is so toxic and our work quality suffers.
Is it any wonder that God tells his people to forgive one another? He loves us too much and will not want us to go down the destructive road of unforgiveness. That’s why he gives us a call to forgive.
Jesus Christ made it clear in Matt 6:15 that “If ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses”. It is therefore necessary that a Christian learn the art of forgiveness for his or her spiritual benefits.
Have a blessed Week!
