Finding the Joy in ForgivenessSample

According to Merriam-Webster, the definition of forgiveness means to cease to feel resentment against (an offender).

Cancer is an ugly disease. What starts out as a few mutated cells becomes a dangerous disease as the cells replicate and spread throughout an organ and possibly throughout the entire body. Unforgiveness is like cancer of the soul. What starts out as an unwillingness to show grace to someone spreads throughout the soul to impact a Christian’s relationships with others and his or her walk with the Lord. Left unchecked, refusing to forgive can be just as deadly to our soul as cancer is to the body.

Matthew 5, 6, and 7 make up the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus teaches what Kingdom-living looks like. Jesus lays out the expectations for what it means to be living for God in this world. One of those expectations is that we will forgive others when they wrong us. But, just because Jesus instructs us to forgive does not mean that it is easy. Forgiveness is hard because someone has hurt us. The deeper the hurt, the more difficult it is to forgive. But, our call to forgive is not based on the severity of the wrong done to us. Jesus does not qualify our forgiveness on a scale that depends on how big the action was against us. We are called to forgive the little stuff and the big stuff, the easy to forgive and the hard to forgive.

Forgiveness can bring you peace, happiness, and emotional and spiritual healing.

Who or what situation are you NOT forgiving and why?

Prayer point: I operate in the fullness of Gods power to forgive and to forget in Jesus' name.