When we practice forgiveness and give it freely to those around us, God is going to do the same for us. That is one of the great blessings that come from having a forgiving heart.
Is it as simple as just asking?
With God, it is that simple. By confessing our sins to him, he wipes them away, giving us a clean slate. We are not bound by those sins that we get caught up in. We can walk in freedom from the bondage of sin and live in the fullness of his grace.
This all sounds great, doesn’t it?
But life is life, and life is hard. People hurt us and we get bitter and resentful. We store up our anger and hold it close to our hearts as a means of protecting ourselves from further pain.
Often, we sit and ponder our pain, propelling it far greater and messier than it has to be. We hold grudges. We develop attitudes. We find ourselves reacting in ways that undoubtedly would not please Jesus.
That bitterness and anger take root in our hearts, and we store it inside of us, tucked away in a little compartment of our heart where it has room to grow and fester.
Before we know it, that little seed of hurt, anger, resentment, or bitterness has grown. It becomes a heavy load that we carry with us, day in and day out.
It evolves into something so big that it defines our attitudes daily. We may put on our smile and do our best to forge ahead, but the weight of our burden is heavy. It slows us down, or sometimes stops us completely.
Why are we always so quick to carry a load that we could easily put down?
Why are we so obsessed with holding on to the hurts when we could be living in peace and freedom?
Jesus wants us to walk in freedom…the freedom of living a life of obedience to God. He wants to take our burdens and carry them so we can be set free.
That is why the act of forgiveness is stressed so greatly in the Bible. God knew how necessary a forgiving heart would be in order to live a life of peace and joy. There is no room for joy in our hearts when they are full of bitterness.
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