A couple of posts back, I talked about a situation in Nigeria when a group of Muslims massacred a group of Christians. One of the main points I was trying to wrestle with was how we need to forgive like God did, even in the hard situations.
Well, this week, I was given an assignment in my discipleship group to find out if I was still bitter against anyone, because the lesson was on personal forgiveness. This series that we've been going through gets right in your face and doesn't allow you to have any room to squirm, which is really good, but also very hard.
Anyway, after basically exhorting those villagers in my other post not to seek revenge, I realized that in my own heart was a call for justice and vengeance against those that had wronged me(even if they weren't my enemies, I still wanted this). I wanted conditional forgiveness. I thought that I had forgiven these people, but there was still a bitterness in my heart. I was doing the very thing I knew was wrong without even realizing it.
After the study this week, I found a better way: look to how the Father deals out forgiveness. He will forgive anyone. And those people can come as they are. But he also longs for more than that: for repentance and reconciliation. Not only for his sake, but for theirs. Sometimes, it starts from the one who is harmed. It's not always so easy as people asking for forgiveness. But God forgave. And, if I would but use it, he gives me the power to do the same.
And that is now my heart. To be like Father.
Well, this week, I was given an assignment in my discipleship group to find out if I was still bitter against anyone, because the lesson was on personal forgiveness. This series that we've been going through gets right in your face and doesn't allow you to have any room to squirm, which is really good, but also very hard.
Anyway, after basically exhorting those villagers in my other post not to seek revenge, I realized that in my own heart was a call for justice and vengeance against those that had wronged me(even if they weren't my enemies, I still wanted this). I wanted conditional forgiveness. I thought that I had forgiven these people, but there was still a bitterness in my heart. I was doing the very thing I knew was wrong without even realizing it.
After the study this week, I found a better way: look to how the Father deals out forgiveness. He will forgive anyone. And those people can come as they are. But he also longs for more than that: for repentance and reconciliation. Not only for his sake, but for theirs. Sometimes, it starts from the one who is harmed. It's not always so easy as people asking for forgiveness. But God forgave. And, if I would but use it, he gives me the power to do the same.
And that is now my heart. To be like Father.
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