With Forgiveness

It's not every day that you hear about a rape victim forgiving her attacker, or the shooter being granted forgiveness after a killing spree.
 It does happen, but more often than not, we are not asked to forgive on such an extreme level. We might just have a friend who likes to talk about us behind our back, or betray our trust when it really matters. We might have a spouse that thinks only of themselves, or kids who never listen and blame you for their failures. I think if we are honest, every day we get a chance to forgive someone. Humans hurt humans. It happens all the time, and is sometimes small and sometimes very big.

 I woke up today harboring some resentment toward a friend. Then I read this verse in the Bible found in Ephesians 4:32. "And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." It's sounds simple enough. Bahahahaha

 What if someone hurts your feelings all the time! You don't deserve to be hurt! It's so hard to believe that if someone loves you they would hurt you so badly. Bahahahaha

 Every person I have ever known and loved has hurt me in some way one time or another. If you can't forgive others, your life is pretty much going to stink.

 So, if you catch yourself always filled with conflict and wanting to share with the world how you have been victimized in some way, stop, catch your breath, and ask God to help you forgive. Not just for a second, but real forgiveness that looks at your own heart and sees ugly there too. A forgiveness that tolerates others because you yourself have much to be forgiven for.

 Please note: I am not talking about staying in harmful situations that could hurt you physically or emotionally. I want to talk more about that in a future post on Trust. Forgiveness does not mean being unsafe.

 Forgiveness is a deep change that takes place in your heart. The Holy Spirit helps the believer and it's magic. You forgive like God has forgiven you, and He gives peace. You are then free to love those who are closest to your heart, and can tolerate patiently the human plight of sin.

 One time I lied to some friends who asked me not to share a secret with others. I did share the secret, and they found out. They didn't tell me they knew. They just asked me again if I had kept their secret. I lied again. I lost my friends. I apologized, but it didn't really help.

 Another time, I shared something private about my child that I promised to keep a secret. (Are you seeing a theme here? Please don't tell me secrets.) I hurt him badly and trust was broken. Guess what though? He did forgive me! It was exhilarating! I felt a deep sense of connection and love. He knew what I did and forgave me still. If this has happened to you before, then you know that to be forgiven feels wonderful and hurting others feels awful! You feel loved so much more than if people choose to cut you off for making mistakes. Take that feeling, multiply it by one million and that's how it feels to grant forgiveness, real forgiveness to someone else. So, if you wake up tomorrow on the wrong side of peace, ask God to help you forgive and Flood your life.

  I would have missed this if he hadn't forgiven me. What are you missing out on?