Walking Wounded

“We talk glibly about forgiving when we have never been injured; when we are injured we know that it is not possible, apart from God’s grace, for one human being to forgive another.” -Oswald Chambers

In her book “Choosing Forgiveness” Nancy Leigh DeMoss states, “I’ve come to believe that, whether they realize it or not, unforgiveness is, in fact, a very real issue for most people. Almost everyone has someone (or ones) they haven’t forgiven. Whenever I have spoken on this subject, after defining and describing forgiveness from a biblical perspective, I have asked the audience the question: ‘ how many of you would be honest enough to admit that there is a root bitterness in your heart that there are one or more people in your life-past or present that you’ve never forgiven?’”

It is stated very clear in scripture that we are to forgive one another just as Christ forgave us of our sins and by dieing on the cross…

Colossians 3:12-13-“Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.”

Mark 11:25-“And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that you Father also who is in heaven may forgive your trespasses.”

“Anything against anyone.” That pretty much covers the bases. Doesn’t it? No offence is too great; no offender is beyond the boundary to which our forgiveness must extend. Our fellowship with God requires it and depends on it. So if we as believers persist in unforgiveness, our hearts are forced to wrestle with the fact that our actions amount to disobedience. The pathway of resentment and retaliation-God calls us to the pure, powerful, choice of forgiveness- and to pursue, wherever possible, the pathway of restoration and reconciliation. The outcome of our lives in not determined by what happens to us but by how we respond to what happens to us.”

When don’t choose to forgive others; sin will begin to well up in our hearts. Let’s remember that God sees our heart every second of our lives and He is the one we will be accountable to when He returns. Just as Christ forgave us, let us also forgive one another!

Here are a few questions that I've asked myself before and then apply to my own life…

1. Is there a person or circumstance you have blamed for the way your life has turned out?

2. Is there someone who has wronged you that you’re still trying to make pay for their offence?

3. Can you think of a situation where you retaliated or became resentful, rather than forgiving someone who hurt you?