Christian Living

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“Responding to Freedom”
Thursday, March 10, 2005 †


“But I say to you that hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you,pray for those who abuse you. …. Be merciful,even as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:27-28, 36).



Remember the three greatest English words, “I am sorry?” Remember what it means to truly be “free”? Well, consider another definition of freedom displayed in a response of three equally great English words of, “I forgive you.”

Forgive: v. to give up resentment or claim to requital on account of (an offense or wrong); to remit the penalty of; to pardon; -- said in reference to the act forgiven.

I am not sure if it is a coincidence or it is just as the Devil intended it to be, but for some reason everything that is from the dark world seem to have the same negative effect on us. For instance, like sin when we do not forgive someone instead of punishing the offender as we want and think we are doing, we actually are punish ourselves. The resentment that we hold against the other person allows our spirit to grow heavy and our attitudes to grow dark. We become irritable, intolerable and our whole demeanor begins to change. And as the grudges pile up for one person to the next it starts to permeate into our every pore until our old happy, lively, self withers away. Affected are our personal relationships, our work relationships, and most importantly, our relationship with God. And when we say things like, “I’ll never forgive that person till the day I die. And I will take the memory of what they did to me into my grave,” we are only nailing ourselves to our cross not anyone else. Do those words not sound heavy and binding to you? So why not lighten your yoke today, and set yourself free.

To not forgive is like to not be free, both puts you in a state of slavery. “Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Matt. 18:18).

á†Ù

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