Forgive and Don't Forget! (Colossians 3)
** please welcome the lovely Cathy Swan as today's guest bloggerColossians 3.13 You must make allowance for each other's faults and forgive the person who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. [nlt]
I forgive you. A phrase we can often find very hard to say, especially to those who call themselves Christians. Aren’t Christians supposed to be just that – ‘Christ ones’? We seem to hold those in the Church, to a higher standard than unsaved family or friends. We expect the pastor to always be available when we need him, we expect our Christian friends to be always loving and never judgmental.
There are so many self-professing Christians who refuse to even darken the door of a church because they have been ‘hurt in the church!’ Yet when Jesus was here on earth He told us that ‘offense will come’!
The truth is that we will be hurt by people, regardless of whether they are in pastors, family members, close friends or fellow members of the family of God. It’s a natural part of living here on planet earth. If we can understand that, it will help us to move on and deal with the hurt and forgive.
Jose and I have been through two extremely difficult situations in church life that caused us a lot of hurt and even made us question our faith and our future involvement in church. This betrayal of trust and Godliness hurt us badly but if we had not forgiven and walked on, we would probably not be in a place of much use to anyone today.
We hear the phrase forgive and forget thrown around very carelessly today. But the key to forgiveness is remembering. Remembering that the Lord forgave us! Even when we were still locked in our own sin, He loved us and forgave us. His expectation of us is that we go and do the same. We have no right to harbour unforgiveness to others. We need to accept that hurt will come, and then act swiftly to show forgiveness. God doesn't say 'if' we can forgive, He says we 'must' forgive!
Then we can heal and move forward.
1 comments:
Colossians 3:18Wives, submit to your own husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
19Husbands, love your wives and do not be bitter toward them.
20Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord.
21Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.
Family is the most important grouping for God and He gives us great principles by which to operate. If we all follow these guidelines each logically flows into the next.
Wives who submit to their husbands, and that does not mean be their servants and be abused by them but give willingly in support and encouragement are making their home happy and free of conflict. Husbands who truly love their wives do not stand over them but share their lives together and offer protection, support and encouragement. A husband who gives unconditional love support and respect to his wife and receives total love, support and respect from his wife lays the foundation for successful marriage. All of this is saying that marriage should not be selfish and possessive or intolerant and overbearing but built on love, respect and sharing.
If the parents can show these qualities to each other then the children can model their lives on these principles and show their parents respect. If the children are obedient, even when they disagree, and they realise their is love in the family, differences are overcome.
I remember clearly when I was younger and my older cousins wanted to take me to Luna Park. I was so excited but my parents refused permission. I was heart broken but also realised my parents were concerned for my safety and not acting out of spite. It was hard to accept but they took the time to explain their decision and I respected that and never held that against them. They would give me freedom later when they felt I was old enough to be aware of things around me and that the situation was suitable.
Family is the most important thing in the world for me. I want to protect and assist and encourage all members of our small but close-knit group. I hope, trust and believe that we adhere to the qualities outlined in these verses. I love my family dearly.
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