Reflection on Genesis45:4–8
Joseph’s
brothers did not have a leg to stand on. They were guilty on all counts. They
plotted to kill Joseph and then sold him as a slave. They cut him off from his
family, ending his life as he envisioned it. There was no making up for it.
There were no excuses. They were guilty. But they still had one hope:
forgiveness.
Joseph
forgave them, declaring one of the most profound theological truths of the
Bible: God had been sovereign over the whole process. That perspective enabled
Joseph to see God’s purposes and be free of bitterness.
When we are wronged,
we need to look to see how God can bring good from it. He can and he will. Then
we need to forgive and let God work out his purposes.
THE COST OF
FORGIVENESS
Matthew 18:35 NIV
Forgive your brother from your heart
Forgiveness
is agreeing to live with the consequences of another person's sin. Forgiveness
is costly; we pay the price of the evil we forgive. Yet you're going to live
with those consequences whether you want to or not; your only choice is whether
you will do so in the bondage of bitterness or the freedom of forgiveness.
That's how Jesus forgave you--He took the consequences of your sin upon
Himself. All true forgiveness is substitutional, because no one really forgives
without bearing the penalty of the other person's sin.
Why
then do we forgive? Because Christ forgave us. God the Father "made Him
who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness
of God in Him" (2 Corinthians 5:21). Where is the justice? The cross makes
forgiveness legally and morally right: "For the death that He died, He
died to sin, once for all" (Romans 6:10).
How
do you forgive from the heart? First, you acknowledge the hurt and the hate. If
your forgiveness doesn't visit the emotional core of your past, it will be
incomplete. This is the great evangelical cover-up. Christians feel the pain of
interpersonal offenses, but we won't acknowledge it. Let God bring the pain to
the surface so He can deal with it. This is where the healing takes place.
Ask
God to bring to your mind those you need to forgive. Make a list of all those
who have offended you. Since God has forgiven them by His grace, you can
forgive them too. For each person on your list, say: "Lord, I forgive
(name) for (offenses) ." Keep praying about each individual until you are
sure that all the remembered pain has been dealt with. Don't try to rationalize
or explain the offender's behavior. Forgiveness deals with your pain, not
another's behavior. Remember: Positive feelings will follow in time; freeing
yourself from the past is the critical issue.
Prayer: Lord, I desire to be
free from the hurt and the hate of offenses in my past. Today I move beyond
desiring to forgive and asking Your help to forgive. Lord, I forgive _________
for ___________.
source:
No comments:
Post a Comment