Luke 17:3-4 So watch yourselves. “If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.”
For our faithful T4J readers, this is a familiar verse that we have covered before. If you are new to us, then hopefully this message is informative and beneficial to your walk. Regardless, let’s dive in.
Yesterday we talked about not being a doormat to others, but also not crying about being the victim. And today we look at that once more. There will be times, probably MANY, when people will offend you or somehow sin against you. But as believers we are called to love as Jesus loved (1 John 4:11). We are to accept their repentance, their request for forgiveness, and we are to show grace to them. And sometimes that is really hard for us to do.
If a fellow brother or sister comes to you and is apologetic, we are to forgive. It does matter how many times they do it, the response is always the same – give grace and forgive. We forgive wholeheartedly without reservation when their repentance is genuine. We are to let go of bitterness, animosity, anger, or ill will and are to love them.
As a community, as one Church, we are to live together in peace and harmony. We maintain healthy, close- knit relationships with one another when we hold one another accountable and give grace where needed. We forgive them because He has forgiven us (Colossians 3:13). If we forgive others, our Father will forgive us (Matthew 6:14-15). It has been modeled to us and we have multiple times we were told to love and forgive, so extending grace is a must.
Who can you forgive today and give grace to? Take some time to pray about it, to let go of the feelings you are experiencing that are keeping you from fellowship, and give grace. We all grow stronger through this process and are better in the end. Grace was granted to you. It’s time to return the favor.
Be the first to comment