A Good Reason To Forgive

This past Sunday I preached a message on the touchy subject of forgiveness. As I mentioned, this may be one of the hardest lessons we have to learn in the Christian life. Nevertheless, it is one we must learn. The unmistakable teaching of Jesus is that He expects us to be as willing to forgive others as He is to forgive us.

If there were no other reason to forgive, it would be worth it for our own health and happiness. We do ourselves a serious injustice when we fail to practice forgiveness. The opposite of forgiveness is unforgiveness and this has a way of eating away at us. Author and physician S.I. McMillen, in his book None Of These Diseases, wrote, “What a person eats is not as significant as what eats at him.” He is right! It is not healthy when we refuse to forgive.

Warren Wiersbe wrote, “The world’s darkest prison is the prison of an unforgiving heart. Some of the most miserable people I’ve met have been those who would not forgive others. They dream about punishing the one who wronged them, and don’t realize that they are only punishing themselves.”

I have read that a grizzly bear will not allow any other animal around when he is eating except the skunk. The reason? He knows the heavy price he will pay for getting even. The same is true for us when we hold a grudge, refuse to forgive, or when we try to get even. The way to health, happiness and holiness is the path of forgiveness. Jesus is clear about this!

Edwin Markham after a successful writing career was to retire. Then he discovered that a so-called friend had fraudulently mishandled his finances. The bottom line: He was broke. Therefore, he had to go back to writing. However, he was bitter and could not write.

One day as he was doodling (drawing circles), Markham thought of the circle of God’s love that encompassed him. He cried out, “I must forgive him or I’ll die!” He did so! It was then that he was freed in spirit to write his most famous work:

He drew a circle that shut me out;                                      
Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout,                                                  But love and I had the wit to win,                                                    
We drew a circle that took him in.
                                             (Edwin Markham)
 
My advice: take inventory of your heart and see if there is some unforgiveness lurking deep within. If you find this to be so, then pray it through. Perhaps, the place to begin is with the words Jesus taught us in the Lord’s Prayer:

“Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors” (Matthew 6:12).

Do yourself a favor: PRACTICE FORGIVENESS! You can thank me later…

Devotedly yours,
Pastor Ron