"you have heard that it was said, 'eye for an eye, and tooth for tooth.' but i tell you, do not resist an evil person. if someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also."
matthew 5:38-39
i don't think of myself as someone who seeks revenge. not many of us do. i am not going to take an eye for an eye or a tooth for a tooth. but maybe i will take a tooth for an eye. i am not going to replicate the behavior of someone who hurt me so that i can intentionally get back at them. but usually i subconsciously (or consciously, sometimes) find a passive way of hurting them back. because of the hurt i experienced, i want the other person to feel discomfort and pain too. i have done this with family, with friends, and even employers. i was never taught revenge, but is a basic instinct of my sinful nature. you hurt me, i want you to pay for it.
forgiveness is an unnatural act. we desire justice. but forgiveness is the mark of anyone who chooses to follow Jesus. david nasser points out two important truths in regard to forgiving those who have hurt us: "our ability to forgive others comes from our experience of being forgiven for our own sins, we can leave justice in God's righteous hands." we must keep the cross at the forefront of our minds. the cross reminds us of the grace God has shown us. our ability to forgive others depends on the extent to which we understand that. i will never be asked to forgive anyone (or everyone) more than God has forgiven me, through the death of His Son. one of the reasons i struggle to forgive is because i don't want that person to be off the hook. but paul remind us in the book of romans that it is God's to avenge. He will handle it.
forgiveness doesn't stop here. it isn't just moving on and letting God handle it. Jesus gave instructions on how to treat those who hurt us, who we have forgiven. if our enemy is hungry we should feed them. if they are thirsty we are to provide them with a drink (romans 12:20). we are to show them kindness and compassion. we must love them.
loving someone who has hurt us isn't natural either. i know that i don't feel like they deserve my love. but then again, do i deserve Jesus? do i deserve God's love? let's face it. in my twenty-nine years i have hurt God far deeper and far more often then i will ever be hurt in my lifetime. but God loves me anyway.
Lord, give me the strength to forgive those who have hurt. more then that, give me the strength to love them, as you have forgiven and loved me.
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