“Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.” 1 Peter 4:8 ESV
We just finished facilitating a summer class on forgiveness. Let me tell you, I got a swift kick in the pants a few times while doing this study. From a pop culture perspective, the classic song “A Thin Line Between Love and Hate” came to mind as did the remake and movie of the same name. Also, there’s a popular phrase right now “love trump hates” that regardless of its political origins is a true statement in the kingdom of God. Throughout this study I was reminded that as a follower of Christ, I’m supposed to operate with love and trust God to fight my battles.
The truth of the matter is I really try to embody the Golden Rule: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” (Luke 6:31) When people treat me poorly or selfishly, I am often offended and will put up walls, and even lash out. The offense grows in my mind and my heart giving rise to a break in the relationship. The beauty of the book we studied is that every premise and action step came directly from Scripture giving little wiggle room on what next steps should be. Otherwise, I’d be saying I know better than God and we all know that isn’t true!
Here are a few key takeaways:
Vengeance belongs to God: Romans 12:19 states “Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord.” That silent treatment, cutting the person off, doing something and saying something mean or hurtful in retaliation serves no purpose. It also puts us in the position of avenging our hurt, when we need to let God deal with the person and any consequences. We may not see exactly what they go through, and how God repays but we can rest and be our best loving selves knowing that God will repay according to His will.
Forget the past: Philippians 3:13 reads “No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead,” In this verse, Paul recognizes that he still has work to do and that living in the past won’t help him achieve his purpose and reach his destination. Similarly, we need to let the past go because we can’t change it. Forgetting the past simply means we don’t let past situations influence us including our mood, thoughts, and actions.
Forgiveness is reciprocal: Matthew 6:14-15 says “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” Each of us hurts and offends God. All. Of. The. Time. We’d like to think His forgiveness is automatic but it’s not. He forgives us when we forgive others. And notice that God doesn’t cut us off after we’ve offended Him either. The next time you consider not forgiving someone remember that your forgiveness of others is a condition that must occur in order for God to forgive you.
Treat others as if they have already arrived in Christ: Colossians 3:2, 11-14 tells us “Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us. Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony.” When we set our sights on things eternal, we don’t see the things of this earth from an earthly view but from God’s view, and this includes people who have hurt us. Christ dwells in every believer, which means that if the person who needs our forgiveness is a believer we must treat them with love, kindness, humility, and patience. Even if our offender is not a believer, because we are believers and Christ dwells in us, we must do these things and be tender-hearted, merciful, gentle, and patient with our offenders.
Paul closes with love and our verse today is about love because it is the glue that holds us all together, connected with one another, and connected to Christ. We know that God is love and as His children we too are to demonstrate love to all on this earth. Contrary to society, love is not a feeling but rather an action demanding we put the needs of others above our own.
Reflection
Who do I need to forgive? What is holding me back from doing so? Have I given the matter to God fully? Am I being an ambassador of Christ and reflecting His love? Why or why not?
Prayer
Lord, thank you for the ability to love and forgive like You do. Forgive me of taking your place as judge and giving consequences to people because of my hurt. Help me to forget like You do and to show love to all on this earth recognizing that I am an ambassador of Christ’s love on this earth. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.
Photo by Mayur Gala on Unsplash
Comentarios