Life isn’t always fair and people aren’t always nice. Chances are you would agree with that statement and have at least one experience to support it!
2017, thus far has been a great year (and I trust that it will continue to be one), however it has also been a year of spiritual surgery. Events in my life have shown me the importance of an unappealing component of being a Christian…forgiveness.
Being the loving and caring person I am, sometimes I fall victim to being used and taken advantage of. I am always that person who tries treat others the way I would want to be treated, even if in my heart I know that others probably wouldn’t treat me the way I am treating them.
I chalk disappointments up, over and over again. Until, months later, there is no more chalk to chalk anything up with and I am reeling from the hurt that I failed to faced. And I ask myself, “Why am I still allowing this person in my life, after everything they have done?” The short of the long is that I never took the time to truly forgive and lay those hurt feelings down.
When a family member acts selfishly or a friend ceases to be considerate…what do you do? How do you react?
A few months ago I heard this quote by C.S. Lewis on the radio:
“To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.”
When I heard it, the first time I thought, “Wow, that is powerful” and moseyed on my merry way. But, then I was faced with the need to forgive and C.S. Lewis came back to my mind. Although, what people do or say may feel unforgivable, we must remember that we too, did things that were unforgivable and yet God forgave us.
In forgiving others, I set myself free, and became closer to God. Although, I will never fully comprehend His limitless forgiveness, I gain a glimpse of it, when I let forgiveness rein in my life.
So the next time someone wrongs you, instead of getting upset…get even more grateful that God forgave you!
Until Sunday,
