Follow me on this adventure. If we do not forgive those we don’t know, we usually have angry thoughts concerning those individuals. Those thoughts lead to the habit of hardening your spiritual heart. Once this takes place, the habit develops into action—usually in the form of brawling, or “tough speech.” This continued action
continues to develop into your behavior. Now a tough question: Is your behavior glorifying God? Look at an easy example—driving. Imagine if you are cut off on the freeway; if you do not forgive the individual in front of you, you may develop angry thoughts of running them off the road, physical violence, etc. With repeated offenses, you may start habitually thinking these same thoughts. Eventually, you begin to say things to your self, make a fist, or honk your horn. Your next progression may involve speeding up just so you may whip in front of them (“Excuse me, but I’m trying to get to church!”). Over time your spiritual heart is no longer sensitive to your behavior; which, incidentally, isn’t glorifying God—I sure hope they didn’t see your Jesus fish on the trunk.We have to be keenly aware of forgiving our brothers and sisters in Christ, but we still have to be sensitive to a kind thought or word spoken to someone unknown to us. What if they aren’t saved by the Blood of Jesus and the Grace of God? We, then, are their ambassadors to the kingdom of Heaven. We have to let them know that God loves and cares for them. This concept is invalid if we can’t forgive them. By the way, this includes forgiving yourself. Last remark; if you do not forgive others, the unforgiving heart goes with you whereever you may go. Until you give it to the Son of God, you are stuck with it.
Have a blessed week,
--Eastpointer
