Dust to Dust?

DUST STORM 1968 (Photo credit: expom2uk)

Let’s lengthen yesterday’s list of sins against us:
rape,
lying,
breaking and entering,
laying-off.

Have I hit you yet?

What to do! Outside of calling the police, or suing, which can be legitimate actions, how do we finally get some peace about it?

Forgiveness.

And forgiveness is often the one thing we least understand and least want.

Like bad-tasting medicine.

I know.

Just like yesterday, the first reason is God.

1.  God. God requires us to forgive. That is the best reason because when we are wounded and aching on the inside, we don’t understand much—but we don’t even have to think. We just know what He requires and prepare to go there.

He also promises to reward forgiveness with forgiveness, which should highly motivate the honest ones among us.

And like any good father, He teaches by example. He shows us how to do forgiveness, in the most radical way.

2.  Man. Man wants and needs forgiveness. Who among us is innocent?

To keep God’s forgiveness, we must be forgiving. Since He has shown us His awesome power to forgive, how can we do less than try to imitate Him? That is His thinking.

Forgiveness also frees us to be able to hear God. Before we forgive, all we can hear from Him is how we ought to forgive. Once we are over that hurdle, He can show us more.

Lack of forgiveness binds us to the sinner we refuse to forgive. This is so scary. What it means is that when we refuse to forgive his sin against us, when we hug it up to ourselves and get it out and look at it every day, we start BEING like that sin.

Look at it this way: With a physical wound, if we treat it correctly, we can greatly minimize the scarring. But if we refuse to remove the dirt, refuse to medicate it, refuse a bandage, and continue picking at it, we make it worse. Bigger. Deeper. Uglier. Longer-lasting. More painful.

With a spiritual wound, we can even pass it down to our children…

3.  Satan. Of course, he hates forgiveness, a real no-brainer, right?

The fun thing about this is when we obey God about forgiving, we SHUT THE DOOR TO HIS ENEMY. Oh, how I love this!

We all need to remember, though: when we disobey about forgiving, the reverse is also true.

Well, who is ready to know what on earth forgiveness really is?

Stop by tomorrow and grab Part 3. I promise you, it is WONDERFUL NEWS!