Forgiveness and The Christian Life

Forgiveness And The Christian Life – this may seem easy for some; however, it often needs some time and prayer…

Forgiveness might seem simple, but when it is all said and done, living a truly Christian life often takes a lot of work. It takes prayer, Bible study, concentration, and love with a desire not to miss going to Heaven. Being a Christian does not mean we lose our ability to be human. We all have human needs we must address.

Scripture Today- St John 4: 7-8

“Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God, and everyone that loveth is born of God: and knoweth God. V.8 – He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.  1st John 4: 7-8

If we fail to love and forgive, we could actually get a hardened heart and fail to see our own needs within our Christian experience. I have to work on myself constantly and know that I am not without flaws.

We cannot rely on anyone else to keep us dedicated to what we believe is expected of us as Christians; it is up to us. We cannot measure our life by anyone, but Jesus Christ. No, that does not mean we should not praise others’ well-lived lives. As scripture today states, we must love those around us, even if they have hurt us.

We should not, however, look at our fellow Christians and judge their behaviors (if they are contrary to what we think), as we then put ourselves in a league that is not ours to claim; it belongs to God, the Father, and the Son, Jesus.

We Must Forgive, and Forget-this is not always easy…

“Jesus said:

“Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against one, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” Mark 11: 24-25

That is where the forgetting is. Remember their sins no more!!

God Forgives And Forgets –Our example for Forgiveness and The Christian Life

If God forgives and forgets, why would He not expect the same of us?

Some time ago I experienced something that made me weak, disappointed, and without understanding. I wondered why I had to experience the situation at this time in my life. My thoughts were that I had already had enough life lessons, and this just was not an appropriate time for me.

Yes, you could say that I lost my desire to even try to be positive, and I became judgmental, unforgiving, and just could not find the right words to pray. All I could say was Lord help me.

I felt alone, misunderstood, and wondered why I had been unwise enough to believe totally in another person to see the situation from my angle.  No, this was not in my Church family or anyone in my hometown.  It was someone I had known a long time, had never been close to, but worked with many years ago.

When Bad Things Happen- we must seek the Lord for His help and guidance…

Those needs include: 

• To be thought well of
• To feel important, and
• To be loved and appreciated. 

As Christians, we are not immune to having personal needs that must be fulfilled. Even Christians are still “human.”  The human part of us still exists but in a different form.

Being a Christian helps us to understand, forgive, and remember that we have all sinned. It helps us to know when we have done something insufficient, wrong, or unacceptable. But also when to know that it has nothing to do with us.

It means that we learn from the Word how to better deal with our own human needs and other people’s, and to face the fact that people will fail us at times.  We must look at the whole picture, and remember we never know what another individual is going through.

This Does Not Always Happen Without Lots Of Prayers

Sharing with you – 20 Best Prayers For Healing

I want to be clear that this was not something I could do initially.  It was uncalled for, unwarranted, and unfair. But that did not change the fact that sometimes we have to prove our status as Christians, even to ourselves.  Get up, keep going, and remember that everything is for a purpose.

Yes, I knew this already, and you probably do also.  But I had another lesson to learn; I had to look at myself again and realize that God gives us grief sometimes to let us know who is in control.  Many people believe He does not cause things to happen to us.

Final Thoughts

When or if we take advantage of His mercies and think we are in control because things are going well…He can get our attention. He can allow us to suffer for our negligence!! And it is in the word here:

“But though He cause grief, yet will He have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies.” Lamentations 3:32

“Thou didst say, Woe is me now! for the LORD hath added grief to my sorrow; I fainted in my sighing, and I find no rest.” Jeremiah 45:3

Then we must also remember that when we need Him the most, He will give us pardon.

“Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.” Isaiah 55:7

Though we may not feel unrighteous, if we neglect to overcome our weaknesses and leave out something like “forgiveness,” we cannot be abundantly pardoned.

All Scripture is (KJV)