Day Twenty-Three 2 Corinthians 2:7

"Now, however, it is time to forgive and comfort him...."
2 Corinthians 2:7
Unforgivable! One heavy, heavy word! (Quite, literally! Read on!) And if I asked, (and I were a betting woman, which I am not-I am Southern Baptist!) I would bet that the word "unforgivable" has in your mind's dictionary the picture of the one person who has "wronged" you in a way that is simply "unforgivable!" Most of us (if we are unfortunate enough) have been so badly hurt by someone in some way, that we simply cannot bring ourselves to forgive that person. When we read in the bible, lessons about forgiveness, we think to ourselves, "Sure, I can forgive my neighbor for what she said about me, I made her suffer enough by ignoring her for two weeks..." or "yes, I will forgive my sister for sharing embarrassing secrets about me, after all it was 20 years ago..." But surely God never intended for me to forgive my spouse for leaving me, or, forgive my relative for what he did to me, or the government for sending my son to fight in a war, from which he would never return, or my family member for not staying sober!" No way! They don't deserve it! And I won't give it! Makes sense to me. Yet there is one problem! My spouse is gone and my anger is hurting me, and causing me to overeat.....my relative has no idea that I am still angry (or that I remember for that matter) and I eat that anger too....my son is now in heaven and my eating won't bring him back....and my family member stays too drunk to know that I'm angry at him! Did I mention that I'm eating that anger too! That is what is Unforgivable! Unforgivable is the fact that I am stuck in this cycle of anger and overeating, hurting no one, really, but me! I don't think Jesus offered forgiveness to us as a means to set others free, but for us to be freed from the heavy burden of unforgiveness. When I forgive someone else, I don't free them, I free me. "I forgive you, so that I can move on, be healthy, and love (and be loved) again!" Not a switch that I can just turn on, but a trip I can choose to take with a beautiful destination.
I pray, that if you are hurting today, because of someone else's sin, may God transform your heart and prepare it for forgiveness. Not to free them, but to free you!
"So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free." John 8:36
May you experience freedom like you have never known!
Thanks for reading,
In Him,
Julie

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