This morning, I was out early for a run. Listening to nature as I ran towards our
local park, the birds were singing, the water in the creek was rumbling, it was
quite lovely. The sun hadn’t been up
very long at all, and I was reminded of the beauty of a new day.
This led to the thought of forgiveness. Forgiveness is like the sunrise. A new beginning, a new opportunity, another
chance. Can you imagine how dreary it
would be if the sun never came up? If
night went on and on?
Forgiveness is a new beginning, a new opportunity, another
chance. We need forgiveness like we need
the sunrise. The sunrise is automatic,
forgiveness, not so much. It’s a choice.
Without forgiveness, we grow angry, bitter, and
resentful. Have you ever noticed how
when we go through a rainy season, everyone seems to get grumpy? Or how when we go through a cold, gloomy,
winter people are discouraged and even depressed? But on that first beautiful spring day, when
the sun shines forth, and the air warms, it’s like people are bursting out of
their shells and everyone is in a great mood.
Forgiveness does the same.
The Bible talks about a root of bitterness. Bitterness comes from many seeds. One of the most common is a lack of
forgiveness. We’ve all been in
situations where we have grown bitter.
The description the Bible uses in talking about bitterness—a root—is phenomenal. Think about what a root does. It grows down. Bitterness grows down into our own
hearts. A lack of forgiveness not only
hurts others, it hurts ourselves.
Bitterness, if not plucked out, will grow to hatred. How does that happen? The root grows so deep into our heart that
love is displaced by hatred. And just as a tree root can break up a sidewalk, the root of bitterness can break our heart.
Forgiveness comes from three directions. First, we need to forgive others. The Disciple Peter came to the Lord Jesus one
day and asked how often he should forgive his brother that sinned against
him. Peter knew what the law said—7 times. Let’s use this example: you are shopping in a crowded store. Someone steps on your toe. They say something like “Excuse me” or “Sorry.” You, almost automatically, “Oh, that’s okay.” No problem, right? A few moments later, they do it again. They say I am so sorry.” You still respond “That’s okay.” We’ve all been there, right? So, what happens if they step on your poor,
abused, big toe 7 times? Forgiveness isn’t
going to come quite so easy. Jesus
looked at Peter and said no, 7 times 70.
Jesus gave the expectation that we would forgive those who, in our
example, stepped on our toes 490 times.
Forgiveness helps us grow more Christ like. As a Christian, it should be our goal to be
more Christ like every day. Ephesians
4:32 tells us that we should be kind to one another, forgiving each other
because God, for Christ’s sake, has forgiven us. How many times have you asked the Lord to
forgive you of something? How many times
has the Lord forgiven you? If you were
sincere in the asking, every single time.
How often do you willingly forgive those who have offended you?
Second; we need to forgive ourselves. We are not perfect. We will make mistakes. Please don’t translate what I just said into
a license to do whatever you want to do.
I often hear people say “I’m just a sinner saved by grace.” That is a true statement, but as Christians,
we are expected to turn from our sins and grow in grace and knowledge. Romans 6 is a great study on this topic. Too many people cannot get past their past
and move on. We all have a past with
things we regret. We cannot cling to
those regrets, those bad decisions, and allow them to hold us down.
The Apostle Paul wrote about setting aside
those weights that so easily beset us.
We often rightly attribute those weights to sin in our present
life. I also believe that we need to set
aside those regrets of the past that we haven’t forgiven ourselves for. How do we do that? I think it should be a rather simple
exercise. First, and foremost, you
should make them a matter of prayer and ask God to forgive you of those
things. Secondly, after you have settled
it with the Lord, I would suggest you find a mirror, look into it, and tell
yourself “I forgive you.” Say it out
loud. Say it twice. A third time if necessary. Admit you made a mistake and move on. Too many times, we confess our sin, we
recognize that it was wrong, but we don’t forsake it. We don’t leave it at the altar. Again, this is not a license to sin, but an
opportunity to get past the past and move on in your relationship with the
Lord.
Third, and most important, we need to have the Lord’s
forgiveness. The Bible speaks very
clearly about our spiritual condition.
We are sinners. We have sin in
our life. We need to come to the Lord,
confess our sin, forsake it, and ask the Lord forgiveness. The Lord will forgive us. We cannot forgive ourselves, we cannot
forgive others, until we first enjoy the forgiveness of the Lord. The hard part has already been accomplished in our forgiveness--Jesus took that part on the Cross.
Too long, we walk in darkness, wondering why
the sun won’t rise on a new day when in fact, we are holding back the sunrise
by withholding forgiveness. Enjoy the sunrise.
Enjoy forgiveness. Pluck out the
root of bitterness before it ruins your heart.
