September 8, 2023 – Are You Seeking to Restore Relationships?
Ephesians 4:31-32
Sermon: 2422 The Freedom of Forgiveness, Part 1
Pray Over This
“Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.”
Ephesians 4:31-32
Ponder This
Don’t forgive after you have collected your revenge. Sometimes people hurt us, and we say, “They don’t know how much they hurt me. I’m going to teach them how much I’ve been hurt. I’m going to blame them; I’m going to castigate them; and I’m going to make them suffer. And after they’ve suffered, after they’ve wept, after they’ve pleaded, after they’ve bled, after I’ve gotten my pound of flesh—then perhaps I’ll forgive.” Has anybody ever treated you that way and then finally said, “OK, I’ll forgive you”? What do you feel like saying? You don’t need to be forgiven. You’ve already paid. Followers of Jesus are called to forgive freely. You should be so anxious to forgive people that you chase them and catch them to forgive them.
Isn’t that what God has done for us? Why do we love Him? Because He first loved us. When Adam and Eve sinned against God in the Garden of Eden, God did not sit up in Heaven and say, “Well, I’m going to wait, and if they come to me, I might be persuaded to forgive them.” God came to the garden and God said, “Adam, where are you?” That wasn’t the voice of a detective. That was the voice of a brokenhearted God who was seeking someone who had sinned against Him to forgive him freely.
- Who do you need to forgive today?
- What does it look like to be eager to forgive? How can you forgive even when full reconciliation is not possible?
Practice This
Consider if there is anyone you are holding a grudge against. Ask the Lord to help you forgive that person freely today.
For more from Love Worth Finding and Pastor Adrian Rogers, please visit www.lwf.org.
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