Word for Today, Thu, 08 Ju1 2004: Forgiveness- Cancelling the Debt
Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>
Dear friends,
Today's message is about deciding whether we choose to hold on to
the things that have hurt us or choose to create legacies of
forgiveness. Through many difficult life circumstances, I've
learned that forgiving others, rather than holding on to the
past, is the best and healthiest thing to do. Well, wonder of
wonders, that is precisely what the Bible says! I wonder if the
past fifteen years of my life may have been a bit more pleasant
(and pleasing to God) had I learned and obeyed that biblical
lesson sooner!
Chuck Swindoll, popular author, speaker, and pastor, writes
today's message. We receive it and pass it along, courtesy of
Crosswalk.com.
Yours in Christ,
Brian
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Live It!
Today's best advice for practical Christian living
Creating a Legacy of Forgiveness: Cancel the Debt
By Chuck Swindoll
I'll forgive ... but I'll never forget. We hear that so much,
it's easy to shrug it off as "only natural." That's just the
problem! It is the most natural response we can expect. Not
supernatural. It can also have tragic consequences.
In his book "Great Church Fights," Leslie Flynn tells of two
unmarried sisters who lived together, but, because of an
unresolved disagreement over an insignificant issue, they stopped
speaking to each other (one of the inescapable results of
refusing to forgive). Since they were either unable or unwilling
to move out of their small house, they continued to use the same
rooms, eat at the same table, use the same appliances, and sleep
in the same room... all separately... without uttering one word.
A chalk line divided the sleeping area into two halves,
separating doorways as well as the fireplace. Each would come
and go, cook and eat, sew and read without ever stepping over
into her sister's territory. Through the black of night, each
could hear the deep breathing of the other, but, because both
were unwilling to take the first step toward forgiving and
releasing whatever was the offense, they coexisted for years in
grinding silence.
Refusing to forgive and cancel the debt leads to other tragedies,
like monuments of spite. How many Christian organizations split
(often over nitpicky issues), then spin off into another
direction, fractured, splintered, and bitterly opinionated? How
many families choose to hold onto memories of resentment, rather
than create legacies of forgiveness? And churches can be the
worst at this!
After I spoke at a summer Bible conference meeting one evening, a
woman told me that she and her family had been camping across
America. In their travels they drove through a town, passing by
a church with a name she said she would never forget-
The Original Church of God, Number Two
Whether our dispute is a personal or a public matter, we quickly
reveal whether we possess a servant's heart in how we respond to
those who have offended us. We always have a choice. Will we
choose to hold on to the things that have hurt us until we've
erected monuments of spite that divide our once harmonious
relationships... or will we choose to create lasting legacies of
forgiveness by forgiving those that hurt us and then releasing
the offense... canceling the debt? Don't miss those final words.
It isn't enough simply to say, "Well, okay-you're forgiven, but
don't expect me to release you!" That means we have constructed
a monument of spite in our mind, which isn't forgiveness at all.
Now, before I go on, let me say this. I don't mean to imply that
you forget what happened, or that you are able to erase the
incident from your memory, or that you don't hold someone
responsible for abusive or criminal behavior or financial debts.
We live in reality here. It's impossible for victims of rape to
remove the unspeakable crime from their memory. Memories of
child abuse cannot be wisped away like leaves falling from a
tree. Scars, both physically and emotionally, are lasting
pictures of a terrible pain.
What I do mean is that we release people from the guilt and no
longer hold the offense over their heads. When we choose to
"cancel the debt," we unshackle people from the dark emotions
lurking in our hearts that say, "Never. Never let this go." In
fact, for those who have experienced life-altering offenses,
choosing to forgive and release people can be an ongoing process.
When Peter asked Jesus, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin
against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?" Jesus said to
him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy
times seven" (Matthew 18:21-22).
Servants must be broad-shouldered people-big enough to go on, big
enough to remember the right and forgive the wrong by releasing
the offender of any guilt, pain, or grudges.
Adapted by permission of W Publishing Group, Nashville, Tenn.,
from the book titled, The Finishing Touch: Becoming God's
Masterpiece, copyright (c) 1994 by Charles R. Swindoll. All
rights reserved.
For more great articles and resources to help you grow in your
faith, visit:
link.crosswalk.com/UM/T.asp?A1.11.23802.1.293748
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Brian Masinick, mailto:masinick@yahoo.com
Home page: http://www.geocities.com/masinick/
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