Forgiveness—The Eternal Cycle
"Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you" —Luke 6:38.
I'm a context fanatic. So after I read the verse for today I looked back at the verses that surround it in Luke 37-42.
It's all about forgiveness. It's all about remembering how much God had forgiven me, and how far I still am from being what He wants me to be. It's all about being like Jesus and forgiving others. It's being reminded that when I refuse to forgive the noose of judgment slips over my own head and rests on my own neck. I am as worthy of condemnation as the one I refuse to forgive.
The context reminds me that if I expect to help others to overcome in their Christian lives, I must first deal with those things that prevent me from overcoming. If I can't forgive, how can I lead others to experience forgiveness, or to forgive those who have, in some way, hurt them.
Read the context, then read the verse this way: "Give forgiveness, and it will be given to you…" Give it generously and you will receive it generously.
I'm a context fanatic. So after I read the verse for today I looked back at the verses that surround it in Luke 37-42.
It's all about forgiveness. It's all about remembering how much God had forgiven me, and how far I still am from being what He wants me to be. It's all about being like Jesus and forgiving others. It's being reminded that when I refuse to forgive the noose of judgment slips over my own head and rests on my own neck. I am as worthy of condemnation as the one I refuse to forgive.
The context reminds me that if I expect to help others to overcome in their Christian lives, I must first deal with those things that prevent me from overcoming. If I can't forgive, how can I lead others to experience forgiveness, or to forgive those who have, in some way, hurt them.
Read the context, then read the verse this way: "Give forgiveness, and it will be given to you…" Give it generously and you will receive it generously.
Oh - that makes it harder. (wink!) So true. How can we expect forgiveness if we're not willing to do the same (yet he does it anyway! wow).
ReplyDeleteSo true! I like your blogs. And I also am a "context" fanatic, and thankful for His forgiveness and grace toward me, and determined to press on to be like Him.
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