You will know that forgiveness has begun when you recall those who hurt you and feel the power to wish them well.”-Lewis B. Smedes
I’m sure all of us have people in our lives that we hate, dislike and/or love to avoid whenever possible. The reasons for this could be many- though the most popular one is the fact that they would have hurt us somewhere along the way. To hurt someone however, is a 2 way road. The human tendency is to hurt those who hurt us- this may not be hurting them with words or physically hurting them, but even ignoring the person who hurt you or backstabbing and gossiping about them can very much be termed as hurting . How did Jesus deal with the people who hurt him?
Jesus’ walk to Calvary. Take a moment to picture it. Surrounded by multitudes of people who were all ready to hurt Jesus, He saw it through to the end. The hurt he faced was not just limited to words. He faced physical brutality as well- He was spat on, slapped, stripped of his clothes, teased, lashed a countless number of times.. And he held his ground, walked the path and did not even protest. If this wasn’t Jesus loving those who hated him, what other explanation is there?
Jesus loved us- the sinners that we all are, enough to give up his life for us. Jesus loved the people that nailed him to the cross enough for Him to ask His Heavenly Father, to “forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Refer to Luke 23:34).
If Jesus could love so endlessly, why can we not strive to love those who we try so hard to hate? It all boils down to forgiveness. To forgive another, is a very difficult task. When we are unforgiving, we store up a lot of hatred and revenge in our hearts and this leads to unhappiness, depression, anxiety attacks, loneliness and unkindness towards others. Once we forgive, we find that this weight is lifted from our lives. We are able to love again- we are free!
Looking at the Word of God, in Matthew 18:21, Jesus says we should forgive "seventy times seven". Again in Matthew 18:23-34, Jesus describes the Kingdom of God as one which is open to those who forgive, and says that all those who do not forgive are handed over to the torturers. It is important to note that even when Jesus was teaching the apostles how to pray, He taught them to pray that they be forgiven as they forgive (Refer to Matthew 6:12). In Matthew 6:14-15, Jesus says, "If you forgive the faults of others, your Heavenly Father will forgive you yours. If you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive you."
Let us bring to mind all those people who have hurt us in any way, and those we may have hurt as well. Take time to forgive them. Learning to love those you loathe starts and ends with forgiveness.
Olivia Pereira
HSI Media
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