Seventy times seven

Forgiveness: (n) the act of ceasing to feel resentment toward something or someone

Just reading that word "forgiveness" makes me get all defensive inside.

Some people don't deserve to be forgiven. Some people take advantage of your forgiving spirit. Sometimes a hurt goes so deep, a wound is so painful, that you can't imagine forgiving that person. They may not even realize that they hurt you. They may not care that they hurt you. Every time you think of that person or situation you feel angry, betrayed, bitter, sad, rejected, alone, taken advantage of, belittled, and flat out miserable. Do you know what that's like? If not, I envy you. But more than that, I respect you.

How many of you have been hurt by the church? Maybe a pastor or church leader, maybe a family member who is a Christian. I know what that feels like, and I know what it looks like to let my hurt and anger cause me to shut God out. I let my hurts caused by people affect my relationship with God. That doesn't seem very fair, does it?

It's so easy to let our emotions control us. Instead of putting our foot down and having self-control we let our minds go rampant with negative thoughts. We need to remember that we have been given a spirit of a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7), and we've also been commanded to control our thoughts. To bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:3-6). So we know that it's possible to control our negative thoughts. Now that brings us to a fork in the road.

Are we going to control our thoughts or let them control us?

In Matthew 18:21-22 Jesus talks about forgiveness with his disciples. Peter asked him how many times he had to forgive someone who wronged him. (Sidenote: Isn't that so typical? As Christians, sometimes we get so caught up in legalism that we forget about grace and unconditional love.) Jesus responded with this, "I tell you this, not up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven." Did you just try to do the math in your head? Haha, I know I did! Seventy times seven? That's a lot! But Jesus didn't say that so we would count how many times we forgive each other, he said that to make a point. We need to forgive so often that we lose count.

We are told to love our neighbor as ourselves, to consider others more highly esteemed than ourselves. Part of loving others is forgiving them. Read 2 Corinthians 13, it emphasizes how important love is! One verse says that love keeps no record of wrongs--in other words, we aren't allowed to hold grudges. Think about all the things Christ has forgiven you for. We're told to forgive as we have been forgiven, and Jesus has forgiven us of every sin we've ever committed--past, present and future. Also, practically speaking, it's healthy to forgive others. I promise you will physically feel better when you let go of those hurts you've been holding on to.

Now here is the challenge I bring to you. Who are you going to forgive this week? I'll bet there's at least one person that you've been thinking of while reading this. I challenge you to pray and ask God to forgive you for being bitter, and then go to that person and let them know what's going on in your heart. Maybe even ask them for forgiveness for holding on to whatever they said or did. I will also be doing this challenge, my friends. We're all in this together.

Ask God to soften your heart, he will help you let go of those hurts. "If he leads you to it, he'll get you through it."

Faith.Hope.Love.

Chelsea Rae