Can I pray for you in any
way? Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com.
In Christ, Mark
In Christ, Mark
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
** Follow The Christian
Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk
** Like posts and send
friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook
at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn
** Become a Follower of
The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
"Father, forgive
them, for they do not know what they are doing."
Matthew 23:34
This ends this
reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Since today is Good Friday, I am taking a quick
break from Isaiah to write about an important aspect of the cross, one I
believe that gets lost sometimes in all our thinking about Jesus and His
suffering as He paid the penalty for our sins, a penalty we deserved but
instead received intercession and grace and forgiveness.
You see, we need only look to the cross of
Calvary and the outstretched arms of Jesus nailed to it to find our yardstick
with which to measure the forgiveness we are to extend to others.
Who do you know in your life that needs your
forgiveness?
We all have someone, perhaps a family member or
a friend or a co-worker. Maybe it’s even a stranger who has done us or someone
we know harm. Everyone at some time or another in life will have to face the
matter of forgiving another. And it’s not always easy. Sometimes, we fail to
forgive at all and continue to harbor ill will against the one who has wronged
us. In the midst of our refusal to pardon the wrongs someone has done to us or
someone we know, we lose sight of one very important truth:
We all have wronged the Lord, and we’ve done it
over and over and over again.
He blesses us so very much and we show our gratitude
by disobeying and disregarding Him in the way we live. Our response to His call
to righteousness is too often wickedness. Frankly, it’s amazing that all of us
haven’t just been wiped off the face of the earth. It would be something we
would fully deserve.
But that’s not what happens, does it? The Lord
doesn’t strike us down when we wrong Him. Instead, He grants us His forgiveness
and grace and love. I don’t know about you but I would have trouble counting
the number of times He has pardoned me and accepted my cries for mercy born
from prayers of repentance.
So if the Lord can be so gracious and
compassionate and merciful, then what’s our problem? Why aren’t we willing to
release a grudge we are holding against another and instead show the same clemency
that He has shown us?
After all, didn’t the very words of Jesus command
us to do so. Look at the direction He gave Peter and us on the matter of
forgiving:
Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord,
how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven
times?"
Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.
“Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.
As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.
"The servant fell on his knees before him. 'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.' The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.
"But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded.
"His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.'
"But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened.
"Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
"This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart."
Matthew 18:21-35
Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.
“Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.
As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.
"The servant fell on his knees before him. 'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.' The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.
"But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded.
"His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.'
"But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened.
"Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
"This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart."
Matthew 18:21-35
Indeed, we are to forgive as the Master forgives
us. And if you need any more convincing, let me offer one last point to seal
this message…for the yardstick by which we should measure forgiveness is found
on the cross as our Savior hangs crucified when He spoke these words:
"Father, forgive them, for they do not know
what they are doing." Matthew 23:34
In the midst of more suffering than any of us
will ever know, Jesus forgave.
In the presence of the mocking and ridicule from
the Roman soldiers and the crowds who gathered to watch Him die, Jesus, the
perfect Lamb of God, chose to not condemn and instead forgave.
As His life dwindled away, Jesus, the Savior who
did nothing but love and teach and heal during his short life on earth, did not
harbor a grudge against those who wronged Him but instead forgave.
Jesus, God’s one and only Son, knowing He was
soon to die while bearing all the sin of mankind, did not pass blame onto those
who were killing Him. No, He forgave.
And this man Jesus, who could have commanded a
legion of angels to come and kill everyone who had done Him wrong, instead
chose to forgive for anyone who would crucify and kill Him surely could not
possibly know what they were doing.
Friends, the Lord is speaking loudly to us on
this holy Good Friday. For if Jesus could forgive in the midst of His
circumstance, then so can we in any and all situations we have faced, are
facing, and are yet to face.
My prayer today is that you will commit yourself
to forgive as Jesus did from the cross and let go of any ill will you have
carried against another, an ill will that does nothing but poison you from the
inside out, an ill will that pulls you away from living and loving and showing
the mercy of Jesus to others, a grudge that you have no right to carry.
In the end translation, God’s word is clear. We
are to forgive as Jesus forgave us.
How well are you measuring up on Jesus’
yardstick of forgiveness?
Amen.
In
Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
No comments:
Post a Comment