Forgiveness…such an incredible thing. Forgiveness…it is a part of who God is. When I think of Christ, nailed to the cross, breathing his last breath, I can almost hear the words he spoke,”Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.”
Have you ever been hurt by someone? Have you been deeply hurt? Has something happened to you that was not right, was not fair?
Stephen, in Acts chapter 7 as he was being stoned to death said, “…Lord lay not this sin to their charge.” Wow! What kind of love had Christ produced in Stephen, that even in the pains of final death he could say, “…lay not this sin to their charge.”
If we were to ask God to evaluate our lives in light if His Word, what would He find? Of course, He already knows us inside and out. Can I ask you, is there anyone that you have not forgiven?
Is there someone you struggle to love?
In Matthew 5:44 I remember the words of Jesus.
“Love your enemies,
bless them that curse you,
do good to them that hate you,
and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.”
How incredibly precious we are to Christ! Just as He saved us through His power, He can also change our hearts so that we love and forgive. At age four, in the backyard of my home in Tennessee, I accepted Christ as my Saviour. I simply asked Him to take away my sins and live in my heart. You know what? He did! He is always faithful and true to His Word.
The Lord has been working in me this month, to help me live each day with a heart submitted to Him. I long to become more like Him! I pray also for all of us, that we would surrender every part of our heart to Him this day, this week, and trust His power to change.
“Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?”
— Jeremiah 32:27