Because of forgiveness

I wrote about forgiveness yesterday.  And I was too ashamed to post it.  "How dare you? What do you know about forgiveness?"

I cannot know all of the atrocities that others face, the snarling beasts of experience, the hidden terrors that threaten to jump out at the most vulnerable moment, the unspeakable burdens too heavy to bear.  But I come to grips with the daily forgivenesses that are before me. There are no small forgivenesses.  Lives are always at stake. And not just my own.  There is always a glaring reason to not forgive.  There are always a million reasons to forgive.  Maybe more.

What do I know about forgiveness? 

Because of forgiveness,
   what has wounded you
               does not define you.

Because of forgiveness,
    God redeems every detail.

Because of forgiveness,
                 you can be healed.

Because of forgiveness,
      Christ bears the scars
                and you don't,
because
 forgiveness is why Jesus came.

But He was wounded
       for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
upon Him was the chastisement
            that made us whole,
and with His stripes we are healed.

                       Isaiah 53.5

Because of forgiveness,
    with what the adversary
     meant to destroy you,
                   God transforms.
Your weakness
               becomes His strength in you.

Because of forgiveness,
     it is not that you don't care anymore
           about the hurt,
     but you care even more about people.

Jesus says,
     "love even your enemies."
And that would pretty much be
              those who need forgiveness.

Everything in us says,
    "Someone has to pay for damages!"
Yes, indeed.
Jesus already died for that.
Even for that.

What does God want me to do?
       Forgive him?
Are you kidding me? I can't do that.
I don't have enough grace in me.

But He said to me,
"My grace is sufficient for you,
for My power
   is made perfect in weakness."

               2 Corinthians 12. 9

God always brings grace to the table.

A lack of forgiveness makes you tough and hard.
Forgiveness makes you stronger.
A lack of forgiveness plants a bitter root
                       in your heart.
Forgiveness produces incredible fruit.

What does God want me to do?
            Forgive him?
Always.
As a Christ-follower,
       there is no other option.
Forgive
      as we have been forgiven

If we only realized
the catastrophic consequences
                   of not forgiving someone,
we would run as fast as we can toward it.
The lack of forgiveness
    passes on a deadly burden to your children,
your grandkids
                and beyond.
And they won't even know where it came from.

Because of forgiveness,
      God changes the course of your life,
everyone around you,
and even those you will never know.
God works that way.
         Because of His forgiveness.
         Because of Him.