Matthew 5:8-10
8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
But that doesn't mean let someone constantly abuse you and take advantage of you. Unfortunately you sometimes have to use violence to defend yourself or your family. But that should be our last resort.
That brings me to my next thoughts on forgiveness. Take a look at this scripture.
Matthew 18:21-35
The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant
21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”
22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.
23 “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. 25 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.
26 “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ 27 The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.
28 “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.
29 “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him. ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’
30 “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.
32 “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ 34 In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”
The point of this scripture is not to forgive someone a certain amount of times but at much as it takes. Because when we hold onto anger, grudges and unforgiveness, it can lead to health problems and sleepless nights. The Lord can help you to let it go. Why let someone else's stupidity ruin your life. Get that gorilla off your back. I reiterate, that doesn’t mean you keep yourself in an abusive situation.
I’ll leave you with that. But like anything, forgiveness isn’t always easy. I recommend, if you ever get a chance, read CS Lewis’ “Thoughts on Unforgiveness” in his book, Mere Christianity. They really opened my eyes.
May the Lord bless you and let’s forgive like He forgave us.
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