Devotional:
In one of Elliff’s books; he mentions and quotes that “One evening before Christmas 1946, a friend dropped off a gift for my mother; a beautiful green felt hat with a large, bright red feather. Rather than trying on her gift, mother cocked her head to one side and looked at out sparsely decorated tree (which we really couldn’t afford ornaments). “It seems to be missing something.” His mother said. “Then, impulsively, she plucked the red feather from her new hat and placed it among the topmost branches of the tree. Before any of us could protest, my mother exclaimed, “There! That’s just what that tree needed!” My mother, in one deliberate and extravagantly generous act, had just illustrated for her family the true meaning of Christmas. In that decisive moment, she had sacrificed something of beauty and value, something that by all rights she would naturally have been expected to keep and wear proudly for others to see– and she had done it all for the benefit of those whom she loved. Over the years, the red feather became a family tradition to his family. It was the last ornament we placed on the tree, and a quiet reminder of mother’s extravagant, sacrificial love–as well as God’s.
Elliff goes on to ay that this symbol took on a greater significance in there family after his father left his ministry and his wife of 43 years. He also mentions that “his mother, though heartbroken, continued to practice extravagant love–and when, years later when she was on her deathbed, his father called to ask her forgiveness, she freely gave it.”
I tell you this story because forgiveness is not the same thing as reconciliation, restitution, or approval of the sin. Forgiving, according to Jesus in his parable of the unforgiving servant, involves a singular decision of the will by which you consider another person no longer indebted to you. In that same parable, Jesus draws attention to the fact that an unforgiving person lives with a desire for retribution. That desire becomes like an acid that eats a container from the inside out. An unforgiving person cannot live a life of faith because he believes someone other than God holds the key to his joy. An unforgiving person, therefore, lives a life of sin and is unpleasing to God. He is in a prison of uselessness and out of fellowship with the heavenly Father. He has made his own heart into a dungeon in which he has imprisoned those he won’t forgive and he lives in personal torment as the result.
There is no love without forgiveness, and there is no forgiveness without love.
Brynt H. McGill
What are the four stages of forgiveness?
- Here are the four steps:
- Uncover your anger
- Decide to forgive
- Work on forgiveness
- Release from emotional prison
How liberating it is to practice forgiveness! Believers in Christ, those who have repented of sin and trusted in Him alone for salvation, can forgive others because they themselves are forgiven. In the story of the gospel, we discover that because of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection; we can come to God receiving both forgiveness and eternal life. That’s really good news for us and as well as for others. Having been forgiven ourselves, we can now forgive those who in any way have offended us.
Pray this prayer with me:
Heavenly Father, thank you for the gift of forgiveness. I can hardly believe your only Son loved me enough to come to earth and experience the worst pain imaginable so I could be forgiven and have a relationship with you. As I may see or spend time with the people that I struggle to forgive this season; please give me patience and the right emotions. Don't allow me to sit in the emotions that threaten to overwhelm me. Remind me again to "let the peace of Christ rule in my heart, since as members of one body you were called to peace" like it says in Colossians 3:15. Give me the strength to forgive those that have hurt me and give me your everlasting peace. In Jesus' precious name, Amen
Verse to look up:
Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven time?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.
Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.
But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.
His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’
“But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened. Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
“This is how my heavenly Gather will treat each of you unless you forgive you r brother or sister from you heart.”
Matthew 18:21-35
All the love,
Cheyenne
Break The Comfort Box! 