2 Corinthians 2:5-8
Remember that the man I wrote
about, who caused all the trouble, has not caused sorrow to me as much
as to all the rest of you—though I certainly have my share in it too. I
don’t want to be harder on him than I should. He has been punished
enough by your united disapproval. Now it is time to forgive him and
comfort him. Otherwise he may become so bitter and discouraged that he
won’t be able to recover. Please show him now that you still do love him
very much.
The Living
Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission
of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All
rights reserved.
Last night was “Movie in the Park” night at our local city park. The film presented was the Disney hit, Frozen…you
know…the one that has the theme song, “Let it Go”! That pretty well
sums up what the Apostle Paul is saying here…”Don’t hold a grudge…get
over it…move ahead…LET.IT.GO.”
I know…I know! Someone
did you wrong…REALLY did you wrong. You’re mad, upset, disappointed,
hurt…or whatever. Not only are YOU upset, but your friends and family
are unhappy, too. The person who wronged you has earned the wrath and
fury of your whole team!
I get it! I know what it feels like to
be troubled in some way by another person…to feel sorrow, betrayal, or
mistreatment of some sort at their expense. I think most of us have had
this experience, to some extent. But Paul makes the point that to
continue to harbor these feelings…or to harp on them to the person who
has wronged you and/or others…serves no purpose. The bitterness will
eat you alive…and your resentment toward the other guy will not
demonstrate the love of Christ to anyone.
See, we’ve all caused
Jesus PLENTY of trouble and sorrow. We’ve mistreated Him in ways we
cannot even articulate. Yet Jesus went to the cross for us, knowing
every single thing we would ever say and do to Him…fully recognizing all
that we would do to hurt others - and all of the countless ways that we
would disappoint and wound Him in our lifetime. He gave His life for
ours…knowing all of this. The grace, mercy, forgiveness and love that
Jesus showed to each of us on the cross are beyond what I can
comprehend.
If Jesus deems us worth all of this…worth His very
life on the cross…surely we can show some semblance of grace, mercy,
forgiveness and love to others. We’re not letting the other guy off the
hook…we’re stepping up to the plate and honoring our relationship with
Jesus Christ. There will be retribution and consequences for the bad
behaviors of others…but meting these out is not our responsibility. Our job
as Christians is to love others like Jesus loves us. And that means
knowing when to forgive, forget, and get over whatever has been done to
us.
Are you ready to show Jesus how much you love Him? Will
this be the day that you “let it go” and offer His grace and mercy to
the other guy? Don’t you think it should be?
©2014 Debbie Robus
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