What are we living for?  This world is broken.  We are surrounded by evil, and even have to battle evil in our own flesh daily.  As Christians, we are united in Christ to God and each other, through faith in the gospel.  We are not living for the next 50 years, but the next 50,000,000 – looking to eternity with Christ, where our hope is found.  With that in mind, I want to revisit a message I wrote about a week ago about forgiveness.  Today is somewhat of a part 2 to that message.

I want to state up front that forgiveness and reconciliation is seldom easy.  Someone has wronged us.  We naturally will feel hurt and angry.  Often trust has been broken in some regard.  So what do we do?  Do we lash out in anger?  Do we cut ties with the person who wronged us?  Why does God call us to forgive and reconcile?  Why is this called out in scripture as particularly glorifying to God?

Ephesians 4:30-5:2 – “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. ³¹ Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. ³² Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.  Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. ² And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”

A few quick observations

1. as Christians, it grieves the Holy Spirit of God in us, when we hold onto anger and bitterness.
2. We’re called to forgive because we’re forgiven by God in Christ
3. In being kind, tenderhearted, and forgiving we’re imitating God
4. We’re called to “walk in love” (ongoing) in forgiveness, as Christ loved us
5. The love of Christ we’re called to is giving up of ourselves (sacrificial)

The foundation of our ability to forgive is Christ.  If the Holy Spirit of God is not in us, it will be impossible to forgive like God calls us to, because it is a type of sacrificial forgiveness that in our flesh we would never seek after.  We forgive not only because we are called to, but that in so doing, we ourselves are seeking the glory of Jesus as imitators of Him.  We seek Christ in our hearts of kindness, tenderness, and forgiveness so that those who we forgive would marvel at our forgiveness and themselves be pointed to the source of forgiveness, Jesus.

This is what we’re here for.  We live not to ourselves, but unto God who ransomed us from death to life through His blood.  Our God sacrificed His honor to be stripped naked, spat upon, tortured, and killed in order that we would be forgiven, and reconciled to God.  When we are wronged (and it will happen often in this broken world), put away the flesh’s desire for anger and bitterness, and instead put on hearts of humility, looking to Christ.  Let the love of God through forgiveness conquer sin both in our own hearts and in the hearts of our brothers and sisters.

Grace and Peace,

Adam