By, Jen McGee
“To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable
because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.”
– C.S. Lewis
Forgiveness. That’s tough.
As Christians, we stand in awe that God could forgive us. The “wretch like me” phrase hits home when we sing “Amazing Grace”. We know we don’t deserve it. And yet, despite this understanding, forgiving others who have truly wronged us, though we know it’s a must, can feel insurmountable.
Do you have those people in your life that have caused harm to you, or even worse, to your loved ones? You think you’ve forgiven them and moved on, but just the mention of their names can make you instantly think of the hatefulness, the gossip, and the mistreatment. Suddenly, you’re hurt and mad all over again. Have you felt these shackles of bitterness before?
These emotions act almost like a dormant volcano, ready to erupt at the very thought of them and what harm they caused.
“Forgive and forget” is the common mantra, but that can feel extra hard when there have been no apologies.
If you’ve ever felt this old man vs. new man or flesh vs. spirit warring inside of you, then you know what I’m talking about. Paul, an apostle of Jesus, with his checkered past, was not exempt from spiritual warfare. In fact, he dealt with a lifetime of grief and hardships at the hands of others, even those professing to follow God.
He reminded us, per his own experiences, that we truly must choose, every single day, to fight against our flesh. To die to our bitterness, to our hurts, to our sinful nature, and yes, to our overactive minds that will rehearse those hurtful scenarios like a broken record. We have to choose every single day to die to all of that and to live for Jesus and others instead.
Paul wrote a very relatable passage about the inward struggle of doing what he doesn’t want to do and not doing what he wants to do. It can be a tongue-twister to read, but it could not describe the inner, spiritual battle any better, in my opinion. Read these incredible words:
“For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind,
and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord…”
Romans 7:22-25
Paul knew how much of our spiritual battles are lost or won in our minds. He also writes, “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;” (2 Corinthians 10:5)
Today is all we can focus on. Today, we must choose to forgive. We must choose to empty our minds of those past hurts that are on repeat. Emptying our minds of hurts and even untruths and filling our minds with God’s Word and HIS truth is such a crucial step towards complete healing.
There’s a battle raging in all of us right now. Do we want freedom from these shackles of bitterness? We must choose DAILY to die to our flesh and to truly live for Jesus. To do this, it is crucial that we walk in the Spirit, and not in the flesh. God's way is best.
So every time you remember the hurts and wrongs, forgive again. That is how we can experience an immense liberation that bitterness did not afford us. We've been undeservedly pardoned of so much. Let's choose today to experience the incredible freedom of forgiving others.
“And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh
with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit,
let us also walk in the Spirit.”
Galatians 5:24-25
“Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking,
be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another,
tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God
for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.”
Ephesians 4:31-32
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