"SundayReflection"
18th February 2024
'Andrews Baah Kwafo offers'
************************
"Forgive As Jesus Has
Forgiven You"
In my few years on this earth, I've seen people deeply hurt by close friends and suffer harsh disappointments from people they relied on.
Some of them tell me that because of what happened, they've decided not to trust anybody.
And for others, they're afraid to build genuine friendships because of the fear that they'll be let down again.
But despite all these evil happenings in our world, the most rewarding thing you can do is to forgive as Jesus has forgiven you.
However, it's most important to understand how Jesus forgave you so that from that understanding, you can live an ever-forgiving life.
Your heart is too precious to God to let its content get affected by anything less of divine peace.
God sent Jesus as His lamb to take away the sin of the world. So when Jesus said, "It is finished" on the cross, He meant three things:
He had accomplished everything the Father sent Him to do physically on this Earth.
The debt of sin for the whole of humanity had been paid for with His blood just as required.
God has reconciled man unto Himself by breaking the wall of partition that separated us from Him.
So from the second point, God has fulfilled His promise which says,
"For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more."
Christ shed His blood to ensure your sin had been paid for. And it's by this understanding that Paul wrote
"bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do."
Here are three mysteries about forgiveness you've got to always keep in mind:
1. Forgiveness frees the offended person's hurt first before the offender
Did you know that hurt people hurt people?
A person in pain will treat others around him with pain.
And when you live with such people without discernment, you'll be bitter at people, thinking they hate you.
Don't be deceived.
Many people living broken lives have chosen to keep people's offences in their hearts, which is very unfortunate.
When you choose the way of forgiveness, even when your offender doesn't apologise to you, you decide to live free of pain.
It might not restore your relationship with the other person instantly, but it'll help you at heart.
I heard one minister say, a long time ago that, "Nobody has paid you rent to have a space for offences in your heart. So don't allow their hurts to be kept in it."
Proverbs also adds that,
"Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life."
2. There are no exceptions to God's command to forgive.
God, through Apostle Paul, told us to forgive as Jesus has forgiven us, you'll not see any word like "except ... ".
That means God has told us to forgive anyone who offends us regardless of how harsh the sin is - including infidelity and murder.
3. When offended, don't wait for the offender to approach you.
Instead, approach him and confront his fault
Some people think it's the duty of the people that offend them to initiate the process leading to relationship restoration.
That's wrong; Jesus never taught that.
He said,
"Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother."
Now read that carefully again. Jesus says the offended must approach the offender, not vice versa.
So if you're reading this and have been hurt before, you're the one to initiate the process of relationship restitution, not the one who wronged you.
And fortunately, there's no timeline for it.
That means there's room for you to settle hurt issues in your heart that has been longstanding for ages.
Suppose the offended doesn't accept his fault. You can read on for more insight.
But I believe Jesus did all these things for three reasons:
Some offenders aren't aware of the effects of their actions on others.
Imagine arguing with someone who got raised in an environment where people liked fighting.
He would feel what he's doing is normal unless confronted.
Some offenders too intentionally decide not to care about what others think of them after hurting people.
To prevent a root of bitterness from sprouting in your heart, resulting in waxing cold see God's love in you (Matthew 24:12).
I do hope you enjoyed it. Go and practice what you've learnt.
><(((°>
This is an edited version.
The full article and Bible references are avaiable on request
Andrews Baah Kwafo
is the founder and president of The Bible Daily Network.
He writes Knowing God Devotional and enjoys creating and sharing Christ-centered digital resources online.
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