To Forgive Is Divine

Alexander Pope the English poet wrote, "to forgive is divine," meaning God's attitude is reflected in us when we forgive those who have hurt us. What makes forgiveness difficult is we want to be sure the wrongdoer doesn't get off Scot-free. If God exercised justice and gave us what we deserved, there would no hope for us.

Failure to forgive is akin to “sowing the wind and reaping the whirlwind.” Jesus told about a man who owed an outlandish debt but was unable to pay it. He begged for mercy and the lender forgave the entire debt. The forgiven man then called in a small loan owed to him and had the person thrown in prison when he couldn’t pay up.

That behavior represents justice without mercy. When the first lender heard about the second lender’s behavior, he withdrew his forgiveness and sent that man to prison. That's what it means to "sow the wind and reap the whirlwind." Forgiveness coupled with gratitude cleanses the heart, mind and spirit.  

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Don’t be misled; remember that you can’t ignore God and get away with it: a man will always reap just the kind of crop he sows! If he sows to please his own wrong desires, he will be planting seeds of evil and he will surely reap a harvest of spiritual decay and death; but if he plants the good things of the Spirit, he will reap the everlasting life which the Holy Spirit gives him. 

~Galatians 6:7-8 The Living Bible

Light shines in the darkness for good people, for those who are merciful, kind, and just.

~Psalm 112:4 Good News Bible

Never Give Up! God Will Send Help - Part 2

Character flaws are present in everyone and can cause even the strongest Christians to feel like impostors. An impostor permits character defect to gain control his or her life. A newspaper told of a pastor who led a charge against the president of a seminary, which resulted in the president's being fired. That pastor later resigned his church because scandals plagued his own personal life.

This illustrates how God's gift of leadership can become abusive. The carnal side of human nature goes after selfish pleasures which insist on being satisfied. The apostle Paul warns us to refrain from deceiving ourselves and others because God will not be mocked. Whatever we sow, that we will reap.

Godly resilience nudges us back to higher ground to walk with Jesus and be a blessing to others. All people are capable of drifting into sin and temptation because we never lose our old sin nature. But with Christ in us, we have a new nature which gives us power to establish boundaries on our old sinful nature.