Forgiveness

Forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. (Ephesians 4:32b)

The road to heaven is paved with forgiveness, the most difficult thing we are required to do.

When people sin against us it hurts; making us angry; and sometimes, it grows into bitterness. Some react to anger by retaliating against the person who hurt us. This only escalates the problem because we always pay back more than we received. Others respond by hitting the wall or throwing things, which can hurt ourselves and our property. Still others burry it by holding it back which allows it to grow into bitterness. Few forgive the wrong immediately because we Don't know how.

The key to learning how to forgive is found in these words: "forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you." We are created in the image of God. God gets angry. We get angry. The difference is how we appease our anger. God saved his anger until Jesus "became sin", (2 Corinthians 5:21) then through the Roman Soldiers He spent his wrath by beating Him and hanging Him on the cross, "it pleased the Lord to bruise Him," (Isaiah 53: 10). God looked ahead to that time to forgive David's sin and He looks back to that hour in order to forgive us our sins.

We need to do the same. We need to spend our wrath on Jesus, the one who became the sin that was committed against us. I did that once. My employees wasted a whole day worth of time. While praying I told Jesus I can't forgive. He said "Take your anger out on me," so I cussed Him out for 15 minutes. When my anger was spent, He asked me "Are you finished?" I told him I was, then He said, "I'm dying on the cross right now for that sin!" "Wow. I can forgive those guys. Its easy. You paid for it." "They don't have to!"

Don't make them pay for what has already been paid.

When we refuse to forgive we are saying Jesus died for my sins but not for your sins. "He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world" (1 John 2:2).

JESUS Paid for All Sin. Even the Sin Committed against You. NOW, YOU CAN FORGIVE.