Jesus said, “Let him who hath no sin cast the first stone”.Â
The ultimate goal in life is not to keep records of wrongdoings nor to pay back those who offend us with evil nor to hold on to our hurts for a long period but the goal in life is to be Christ-like; to not make a mountain out of a molehill, to let go and let God, to have a forgiving spirit, live in perpetual forgiveness and to forgive our offenders even before they offend us. This is exactly what Jesus meant when he said to forgive seventy times seven in a day; do not hold grudges against anybody, choose to forgive before anybody offends you, bear with others, put yourself in the other people’s shoes and be really patient with them especially when they get things wrong.
It is so easy to see the faults of others than we see our own faults. It is so easy to hold on to our hurts than to accept that we also hurt others. It is so easy to take matters into our own hands and judge others over their errors than we receive judgement from others. How often have we dished out punishments on those who have offended us without first thinking of our own offences. Has God called us to be the judge of the earth or to look in and forgive those who spitefully use us?
How can we call on the Almighty God to defend us in greater things when we cannot let go of little things? How is the greatest defender of all time going to avenge us of our enemies if we fight our own battle and refuse to forgive those who offended us? When we act as if we have no sin, when we hold on to our hurts, when we stay away from our offenders and we shut the doors of our heart against those who have hurt us, there is no forgiveness in our hearts and this very act itself is called sin. But when we allow God’s intervention in that situation then we allow for healing from that painful memory and we open up the door for restoration.
We ought to have a mindset of Christ. We ought to believe that God has our back and he is the one who fights our battle. We ought to give humanity the benefit of a doubt and give excuses for others knowing that it is out of character for anybody to go out of their way just to hurt our feelings. We ought not to take ourselves too seriously and easily get offended by people’s behaviour. When we do these things, then our peace will flow like a river and our joy will be full till it overflows. We ought to understand that we are all on a journey and some people might understand the journey faster than others. Some people might even set sail earlier than others and it is to understand that because you are a fast learner or you are quick to do things does not mean you are better than those who are slow to understand and coming behind you.
It is to understand that when we wear the judgement cloak as though God has given us the task to preside over a court case and we hold others at ransom with forgiveness in our hearts, we have several times been forgiven by a just God and he does not hold us at ransom for our iniquities. God does not visit our pasts and he does not hold it against us rather he forgets the pasts and he encourages us to move forward. When Jesus shared the parable of the unforgiving debtor, he also pointed out to us that the same debtor had just recently been forgiven yet he forgot the graciousness of his creditor and he was cruel to others who owed him. He himself was then thrown into prison for life. When we refuse to let go and let God, let us remember that we are imperfect and not devoid of wrongdoings/imperfections.
When we refuse to forgive and we beat our offenders with lashes in our hands then we forget the God of heaven who himself forgave our iniquities such that while we were yet sinners he loved us. Let us remember the many times we have sinned against God yet God forgave us of our sins and he cleansed us. We ought to emulate God in these things to let go and allow God to be the judge. If you are struggling with forgiveness in your heart, the following set of biblical declarations will help set your mind in the right place, your focus on God and your heart for healing from all kinds of hurt so that you may embrace the spirit of forgiveness and live as Christ commanded us to do so.
Make a bold declaration of faith with me today.
I am kind and tender-hearted. I forgive those who offended me just as Christ also forgave me of my sins (Ephesians 4:32)
