Forgiven

Working through church hurt is a process. Many do not realize that they are missing the key ingredient to overcoming this. I know you don't want to hear, “forgive them, and kill them with kindness.” Because that's not what we want to do right? We want justice! We want revenge, and we want them to pay for what they did to us. This feels good. This feels really satisfying to our flesh. However, our flesh thinks differently than our spirit man. Sometimes, with the power and stronghold of emotions, our spirit man is forgotten. He has a place too. When we feed our flesh, sin grows. When we feed our spirit man, our spirit grows.

Which one is getting stronger for you?

Oftentimes, when we do not forgive our brothers and sisters, it breeds bad character in us. Sometimes, we might not even notice it, but it slowly becomes who we are. You know what they say, hurt people hurt people. Have you ever seen a cranky man who is just mean to everyone? Most likely, he has been hurt before, and never released the bitterness from his mind and soul. Now he views the world and everyone else the same way he views those people who hurt him.

Sometimes, forgiveness is needed not only for other people, but for ourselves as well. We have not forgiven ourselves from things we have done, and now constantly live with a dark spot over our lives. We messed up once, so now we are not good enough for what is in front of us. We made a few bad decisions, so now we don't trust ourselves to make good ones. We did not respect ourselves, and let someone take advantage of us. It is too shameful to expose, so we keep it inside. Sometimes, not only bitterness comes from a lack of forgiveness, but insecurity and anxiety as well.

---

God says his mercies are new every day. He does not even remember the sins of yesterday, and gives a fresh wind every morning. So why do we hold on to what happened a year ago? Why do we hold on to that embarrassing moment, or that ugly situation we went through? Why do we let these moments define us, with guilt, shame, titles, limitations? If God says he forgives me every day, then who am I to not forgive myself? Who am I to not forgive others? Even if I don’t like them, Jesus does. God actually sent Jesus to die for them, not just me. So why would I not love them like Jesus? No matter what I think about them, God sees them as his masterpiece. Someone he created for a reason, for a specific purpose that he is walking them through. This reminds me of the scripture,

“Anyone who hates another brother or sister is really a murderer at heart. And you know that murderers don’t have eternal life within them.”

Basically, John writes that when there is eternal life within you, there is no space for the heart of a murderer as well. Basically, they cannot exist together. One will overpower the other, depending on which you feed.

Genesis 1:4 says,

“And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness. God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.”

---

There is much to learn from the parable of the unforgiving servant in the gospel of Matthew. This servant owed a massive debt that he would never be able to repay. His master, instead of enslaving his family forever or killing him, instead chose to forgive him. He did not deserve to be forgiven, but still he was. The next day, the servant who was forgiven, met with one his own slaves. His slave owed him much money, and begged for forgiveness. Instead of returning the same kindness that was just shown to him, he did something else. The scripture says:

“But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.

32 “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ 34 In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.

Matthew 18:21-35

I heard someone say that she does not get angry much anymore, or hold bitterness against others.. I asked her how, and she said that there is no room for those feelings, because the holy spirit takes up so much space within her.

PSALM 18:28

“You, LORD, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.”

I strive to be like this, I strive to not be easily angered, and easily offended, because the spirit is my entire temple. Those emotions that are not of God cannot even reside in me for but a moment, because it is the lord's house. How much more can we love and forgive others, seeing them like Christ would, when there is there is no room? No Room left inside us for fleeting emotions and things of this world? There is no space, because he takes up so much of me. What an amazing concept. Let's fill up. Everyday, every night. Every time someone hurts up, let's fill up that much more. Who will I choose to fill in today? My flesh, or the spirit man inside me.