I sometimes wonder if forgiveness has become more like a fairy tale in the minds of Christians. Something like Paul Bunyan, Cinderella, Snow White or Jack and the Bean Stalk. My guess would be that one could name more fairy tales than they could instances of actual forgiveness. If you are wondering what forgiveness look like from a Biblical perspective look through the list below. I particularly like the ones that mention your enemies. I haven’t had many enemies in my lifetime but I would have to ask myself some serious questions based on these verses.
17 Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, And do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles;
Would I consider it an appropriate or inappropriate behavior if my enemy stumbles? The spirit would say, “Help your enemy up”. The flesh would say, “Cheer and rejoice. Replay the moment they deserve over and over”.
21 If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; 22 For you will heap burning coals on his head, And the Lord will reward you.
I laughed a little after reading this one. I realize burning coals are not literal burning coals in this passage but it appears that if you do one thing you may not want to do you get two great ones in return. You will not find this explanation in any commentary but I will continue by saying we never go wrong when we follow the Scripture! Some things may appear to be unpleasant, like forgiving your enemies, but with or without the burning coals it will solve a lot of problems even if you have been wronged.
Take a few moments to move your mouse over the verses below and ask yourself the question, “Am I a forgiving person?” I am sure glad Jesus is forgiving!
Prov. 19:11
Eccl. 7:21
1Cor. 4:12, 1 Cor. 4:13
No comments:
Post a Comment