Daily Devotional for July 8, 2012

Ephesians 4:31-32
Make a clean break with all cutting, backbiting, profane talk. Be gentle with one another, sensitive. Forgive one another as quickly and thoroughly as God in Christ forgave you.

Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved.

What if you asked Jesus to forgive you, and He said, “I’ll get back to you on that.”? Or what if He flatly refused? How would you feel? I would be devastated, and I’m pretty sure I would look at Jesus differently afterward. While Jesus is the only One who has every right to refuse to forgive us, He is also the last who would do this!

So it follows that those of us who desire to be more like Jesus - to deepen our relationship with Him - must also forgive as He does… quickly and unconditionally. Does this mean that we are to become the doormats for others’ abusive talk and actions? Not at all! God is just and fair… He will mete out the consequences of our actions – and those of others.

We are called to forgive as Christ forgave us… to love others and focus on seeing them through His eyes. The impact this will have on all concerned can be powerful. Forgiveness is healing – for the offender… but also for the one who forgives. Often the person we forgive doesn’t even have a clue what he/she has done. But Satan uses the offense to eat at us. Forgiveness releases this hold and frees us to enjoy our lives and operate fully in love and joy.

Don’t waste another minute. Make a clean break, as the scripture says. Give up gossip, criticism, negativity, profanity, and spitefulness. Forgive quickly and completely and never operate in viciousness or backstabbing. Guard your tongue and do all you can to avoid making unkind remarks. Remind yourself often, “What if Jesus treated me this way?” Ask yourself how you would feel. Let this be your constant guide for how you treat others.

I am so grateful that Jesus stands ready to forgive me quickly and completely. As His disciple, the least I can do is offer this same consideration to others. It may not always be easy. But we don’t stop to consider how hard it might be for God to forgive us, either. When we think in these terms, we understand more clearly that this is the right thing to do. We can’t ask God to forgive us and treat us well if we are unwilling to do the same toward our fellow man. Who do you need to forgive or treat more kindly today? Where shall we begin?

©2012 Debbie Robus