How to Forgive - Leading a Freedom-Filled Life Sample

Offense

The Bible teaches us in Matthew 5:38-41 that, when offended, we are not to seek revenge:

“You have heard the law that says the punishment must match the injury: ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say, do not resist an evil person! If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also. If you are sued in court and your shirt is taken from you, give your coat, too. If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile, carry it two miles.

I think it is safe to say we have all suffered an offense at one time or another. Someone says or does the wrong thing, and we take it to heart. A feeling of resentment builds within us, and we end up offended.

Whether the individual/s intended to hurt us, our interpretation of events can lead us to harbor pain. Our propensity to do this as humans can cause a myriad of ill effects - namely bitterness.

The overarching thought here is that we are not to take justice into our own hands when it comes to revenge. God assures us in Romans 12:19-21 that He is the Judge:

'Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, “I will take revenge; I will pay them back," says the Lord. Instead, “If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals of shame on their heads.” Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.'

We are encouraged to do good to those who hurt or offend us. Leaving room for God to judge the circumstance and provide justice removes us from our self-appointed throne. We must remember we all have the capacity to cause an offense. The Bible says all have sinned and fallen short of God’s glorious standard (see Romans 3:23).

Let us never become so proud that we decide to take justice for an offense into our own hands.

Next Steps:

1. Who have you taken offense from? Have you taken it to the Lord instead of gossiping about them?
2. Prayerfully consider the Scriptures shared in today’s devotional. Ask God to speak to you through them and guide you as you move from the offense, through pain, to forgiveness and offense-free living.

God Bless you.

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Tomorrow we will look at pain and how we can best deal with it.