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When reading this passage, one might think, "That is so nice. The brothers are excited to see each other." But the truth about the entire matter is that Jacob betrayed Esau in a mighty way. Jacob took everything from Esau. And after that betrayal, Jacob hit the road and never looked back.
Have you ever wondered what thought processes Esau went through to get to this place of forgiveness? The Bible doesn't mention how Esau forgave Jacob for his betrayal. We just know he did. We know he did because the first time Esau saw Jacob, he ran for him and embraced him. Esau was able to forgive him and not kill him like we thought he would. Esau forgave Jacob, ran to him and embraced him before Jacob could even say, "I am so sorry for what I did to you."
Why can't we follow Esau's example? Why do we hold onto hurt?
I think we do this because we don't look at forgiveness correctly. We judge ourselves from a horizontal stance when we should be judging ourselves from a vertical one. You see, we think things like, “I'm not so bad compared to her.” Maybe our particular sins aren't as bad as someone else's, but they are still sin, friend. And when we choose to harbor unforgiveness, we are deliberately disobeying God.
Jesus Christ was the only perfect person and will be the only perfect person. When we measure ourselves in light of his standard, we will always fall short. No matter how big or how small we think our sins may be, they still separate us from God without a Savior.
Friend, you do not need anyone's participation or permission to forgive them. Pastor Jimmy Evans says that “forgiving someone is the most self-loving thing you can do.” Forgiveness is for you, not the other person.
Action Steps
Do you forgive easily or harbor unforgiveness? Spend some time asking God to reveal to you why you forgive others easily or why you can't seem to let things go.
Have you ever wondered what thought processes Esau went through to get to this place of forgiveness? The Bible doesn't mention how Esau forgave Jacob for his betrayal. We just know he did. We know he did because the first time Esau saw Jacob, he ran for him and embraced him. Esau was able to forgive him and not kill him like we thought he would. Esau forgave Jacob, ran to him and embraced him before Jacob could even say, "I am so sorry for what I did to you."
Why can't we follow Esau's example? Why do we hold onto hurt?
I think we do this because we don't look at forgiveness correctly. We judge ourselves from a horizontal stance when we should be judging ourselves from a vertical one. You see, we think things like, “I'm not so bad compared to her.” Maybe our particular sins aren't as bad as someone else's, but they are still sin, friend. And when we choose to harbor unforgiveness, we are deliberately disobeying God.
Jesus Christ was the only perfect person and will be the only perfect person. When we measure ourselves in light of his standard, we will always fall short. No matter how big or how small we think our sins may be, they still separate us from God without a Savior.
Friend, you do not need anyone's participation or permission to forgive them. Pastor Jimmy Evans says that “forgiving someone is the most self-loving thing you can do.” Forgiveness is for you, not the other person.
Action Steps
Do you forgive easily or harbor unforgiveness? Spend some time asking God to reveal to you why you forgive others easily or why you can't seem to let things go.
Scripture
About this Plan
The word surrender doesn’t have very positive connotations in our society. It tends to be seen as a weakness. However, surrendering takes more strength than you can imagine. We don't need to carry shame, worry, ingratitude or fear around, we need to “give it up completely” as one of the definitions of surrender suggests. I believe that when we surrender our lives to the Lordship of Christ we will find the abundant life promised us in John 10:10. After all, God gives His best to those who leave the choice to Him.
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