God does not expect us to arrive
at perfection by our own efforts. He gives us both the desire and the power to
live a righteous life (Philippians
2:12-13). We are human with our own distinct set of flaws and
foibles. Our idiosyncrasies are no better or worse than any one else’s.
Therefore, we have no reason to expect perfection from our self or from any
other person.
However, God wants nothing less
than our perfection in Christ. God is all about grace. He wants us to use mercy
and grace when we deal with our self and others (Luke 6:36). God desires that we forgive our
self and others as well (Ephesians
4:31, 32). We are all wounded souls
attempting to survive in this world. Mercy is as important to God as justice.
The Pharisees attempted to please
God by adding to His law. They believed that more rules were better. Jesus set
them straight. God calls us to forgive each other, to show compassion and mercy
in the same way that God forgave us through Christ (Ephesians 4:32). If we
fail to comply, then we open the door to Satan. He works havoc in our life and
defeats us at every turn.
If we fail to forgive, we also
allow our enemies to persecute us (Matthew 18:34-35). We tie God’s hands with our
unforgiveness and He cannot forgive us either (Matthew 6:14). We will prevent Satan from
interfering in our life, if we choose to forgive (2 Corinthians 2:10-11). We will
also allow God to forgive us. Forgive does not let the troublemaker off the
hook, it puts them in God’s vengeful hands and sets us free (Romans 12:19).
Prayer:
Father God, when You ask us to
forgive, you know that we are still hurting from the abuse inflicted on us by
the perpetrator. Our feelings of unforgiveness allow the offender to control a
part of our life. We will never forget the infraction, but forgiveness lessons
the pain of it in our soul.
Thought for the Day:
Forgive as You have been forgiven.
– Hebrews 10:17
