God’s Gift of Forgiveness by Dan Spitz
I was attempting to respond to Marks’s post and then decided I probably need to write a post myself. Forgiveness has been brought up quite a bit lately, so I thought I would reflect on the sermon at my church Saturday night. The sermon series for Advent has been the “God Gifts“ and the messages for the past two weeks have been on the gifts of help and encouragement. Well, tonight’s message was the gift of forgiveness. The whole idea of Christmas, the birth of Christ, is all about forgiveness. (Matthew 1:18-25 and Hebrews 2:14-17) And God offers forgiveness to all. (Colossians 1:13-14 and Matthew 6:12-15)
Many of the points made were the same ones I have heard over and over again. Most of us realize that we have to make a choice; we can become bitter or better. Of course, we also know that God’s will and command for us is to forgive everyone. But Dianne, one of our ministers, really brought to my attention how we can identify any unforgiveness in our hearts. She suggested that we contemplate these points which might indicate that we have unforgiveness issues; do we keep replaying in our mind the same situations over and over again; do we have a subtle desire for the other person to experience our pain and hurt or some kind of hardship (revenge); do we tell others about the other person with intent to condemn; when the person’s name is mentioned, do negative thoughts immediately enter our mind; and do our conversations consistently revolve around the other person. Wow, her words really made me think and consider if I was still harboring any unforgiveness, especially towards my spouse. So it was time to ask God to reveal to me any unforgiveness I might be hanging on to that is preventing me from receiving all the blessings God desires to give me.
Our focus must always be on God and what He can and will do in us, and not our spouses. As God begins to change us, we need to ask Him to reveal any unforgiveness in us as it prevents God from being able to transform our heart. Unforgiveness becomes a root for bitterness and resentment, and it causes our hearts to harden. The scriptures tell us that God is not going to answer our prayers if we harbor any unforgiveness towards anyone. Everything Jesus said and did was permeated with forgiveness. (Matthew 5:23-26, Matthew 5:39-44 and Matthew 18:21-35) God’s gift to us was and is His one and only Son, who came to suffer and die on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins that we may, because of God’s unfailing love, mercy and grace be set free from Satan’s grip. (Hebrews 2:14-17) What an awesome gift; eternal life and while we wait, living in obedient faith, He wants us to experience abundant life here on the earth. but we are to live in continual forgiveness. (Ephesians 4:26-32 and Mark 11:24-25)
So consider giving the gift of forgiveness to someone you are harboring unforgiveness toward and then go a step further and ask God to bless that person; that he/she might see and hear the truth and receive all that God has to offer them. Then receive God’s forgiveness for yourself; God loves us and forgives us when we confess, repent and seek Him. And our forgiveness of others sets us free from the strongholds of the enemy and allows us to receive the blessings God so desires to give us.
Blessings.
Thank you, Dan, for this post. The points in determining unforgiveness are very helpful. Sometimes we can fool ourselves into believing that our unforgiveness/bitterness is “Righteous Indignation.” And this makes it very clear how to tell the difference. God bless you, Teresa
It has been a while since I’ve checked in to FAM, but you are always on my mind and in my prayers. Thank you, Dan, for this message….It has been a year since God restored my marriage and Carlos and I are still going strong! And our relationship with God has grown sooo much! But I must admit that I have been replaying our days of separation and the cause of the pain recently. And reading through this article reminded me that I need to continue to fight off those thoughts and think of my forgiveness toward my spouse and myself. God Bless everyone during this Christmas and many blessings for the next year. No matter how bad the world and our surroundings might seem; as long as we are with God and continue to read the living bible, God will take care of us!