1 John 4:19-20'We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen." We have all heard the saying, whether you consider yourself a Christian or not, "love thy neighbor." It is one of the major pillars of the Christian faith, along side love God with all your heart. BUT Christian or not, we should love all people all the time. It is just apart of being a decent human being. But what about the people who have hurt us? What about the people who have been so un-kind to us? Should we love them, forgive them, and show kindness to them? If I am being honest, SADLY the answer is yes. Unfortunately we don't get to pick and choose who we show kindness to and who we love. The Bible doesn't say "pick your 3 best friends and love just them." Nope, it says love EVERYONE, ALL the time. Showing love and forgiveness to someone who has hurt you seems like an impossible task. My immediate thought is that if someone has hurt me then they do not deserve my forgiveness. BUT GUESS WHAT, we did not and will never deserve Jesus' forgiveness. We did not and will never deserve Jesus' sacrifice. We did not and will never deserve Jesus' grace and love. So if we are to strive to live a life like Jesus did then forgiveness, grace, love, and sacrifice comes with that. Now, I am not saying you need to try to have a great and personal relationship with everyone that has hurt you, sometimes we do need to let go of people. You don't need to see the person that hurt you to offer forgiveness or grace. I think forgiveness lives in our hearts. If you had a really toxic relationship, or an abusive relationship, I am not saying you should go back into that situation. We can forgive someone without even looking them in their eyes. We can give someone grace and love even if they aren't next to us. To me, forgiving someone means not letting that hurt live in your heart anymore. It means not holding those mistakes against someone, not talking bad about that person who hurt you. Not letting that mistake affect future interactions you have with them. As hard as it is, it is so freeing letting go of your hurt and anger towards others. Not letting the pain of the past define your future is such a better way to live. Forgiveness does not come overnight. It takes time and prayer... and more time LOL. But it will come and it will be so freeing. When you start your process of forgiveness you will realize how hard it is, yet Jesus was so willing and quick to give it to us. It will make you have a newfound love for Jesus' grace and forgiveness. And that realization is worth the struggle to forgive.
1 Comment
Rita Whitehead
3/13/2023 11:32:39 am
Amen Paige! Forgiveness as you said is not easy. I have dealt with this and still do. Praise the Lord, He gets me through it and the Forgiveness does come. Thank you for sharing your heart.
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MEET THE BLOGGERHello! Paige here. I see you found your way to my page... haha no pun intended. Anyways, this page is for the 20-something gals who feel like they are stumbling through life. I hope this page brings you comfort, peace, and confidence. Dive into my posts and reach out to me anytime on my Instagram! I would love to chat and make a connection with you.
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