FORGIVENESS: A KEY TO A FULFILLED LIFE
SONG
You are God, from beginning to the end,
there's no place for argument,
You are God all by Yourself.
TEXT
"Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye." (Colossians chapter 3 verse 13)
We are imperfect people living in an imperfect world, with so much unpleasantness. The world was perfectly created by God and it remained so until the fall of man in the garden of Eden.
The creation was marred by Satan the devil, and ever since the World has never been the same.
GOD holds forgiveness very sacred, and important. To me, it's a way to worship God.
The Bible says in the book Matthew chapter 5 verses 23 to 24 as follows :
"Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift." This shows how important it is to forgive our offenders.
There's an adage that says "To err is human, but to forgive is divine". In other words, we are bound to offend people and also, people will offend us every now and then.
In our Scripture reading for today, the Bible says, "Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye." (Colossians chapter 3 verse 13)
We are encouraged to forgive one another. This is to mean that we should tolerate one another and also forgive whosoever that offends us. Let us make room for the faults of others; that is, to let us be able to accommodate the offenses of others.
When we forgive, it isn't to say that we have not been wronged, but we forgive, among other reasons that we might be free from unnecessary tensions or pains.
When we forgive, we release someone else from the burden of their wrongs; we also release ourselves from unnecessary tension or stress. Forgiveness brings joy and healing to our spirits, souls and bodies
An elders in our former church once said that there are those that carry their offenders and put them in their hearts, instead of housing Jesus in those hearts.
This is very true. Our hearts are meant to tabernacle Jesus, not those that offend us.
Like I said, choosing to forgive someone else doesn't mean that the wrong never happened, it just means that you refuse to allow it to control your life. It means you have chosen to be set free from unnecessary tensions.
Forgiveness should not depend on the apology of the person that hurts you.
Rather, let's see it as a command from God and what is more, it brings peace to you and the other person. We know that obedience to the Word of God gives room for rewards and blessings.
It has been scientifically proven that the people who do not forgive are more prone to high blood pressure.
Let us not allow the enemy to keep us in the cage of unforgiveness.
We can make the choice today to leave that cage and move forward with our lives.
PRAYER
Heavenly Father, I thank You for having forgiven me all my sins. I therefore forgive everyone that has offended me, in Jesus' Mighty name.