"The Lord's Forgiveness - lavished on us!"
by Carolyn Steele
by Carolyn Steele
Ephesians 1: 7, 8: In Him we have redemption through His Blood, the forgiveness of out trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight.
From these verses, we see an order in the Word’s promise that is exciting! First, we're redeemed on the cross of Calvary and our sins are forgiven. In God’s grace, He “lavishly” gives us this forgiveness of sin with the Father’s wisdom and insight. Of course, we cannot do this in our own strength. Then, what do we do when others or situations arise that lead to feeling hurt or treated unfairly? We are tempted to not remember Matthew 6, which states that we must forgive others as God forgives us and that the Lord will not forgive us if we don’t forgive others (verse15). I cannot be justified in my complaint (sin).
Dear Friends in Christ: The sin of not forgiving will grow and lead you away from your precious Jesus. It truly hurts our Savior and drives a wedge between God and you. Stop and think for you know this is not worth it! Jesus died for your sins and gave His all. Turn and repent quickly and don’t nurse and rehearse those bitter feelings. If you sincerely give it to Christ, He will be true to change your heart. However, what will happen if we are hurt again? This may happen with the folks that you often see and cannot avoid. This is where a daily surrender to Jesus must become a part of your innermost desire, as you grow closer to Him with the help of the Holy Spirit. Memorize Luke 6: 37: “Judge not, and you will not be judged: condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven.”
Only Jesus Christ can truly bring restoration and healing to your life through obedience to His Word. You may be thinking; I am not sure that I want to do this. Take it from me that putting off forgiveness only prolongs misery and sin. Christ did it for you, because His everlasting love is “incredible.”
