Forgiving Others

Colossians 3:13-14 (NLT) 13 Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. 14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony.

I was thinking about the idea of forgiveness this morning. Actually, I’ve been thinking about it for the last few days. If you’ve been a Christian for any amount of time – it is an issue that will have be dealt with time and again. Here’s the irony… I will never learn about forgiveness unless I actually have someone to forgive. So, God knowing the lessons I need to learn places me in situations with people that just rub me the wrong way – that get my “goat” as the might say. I have to deal with misunderstandings, untruths, personality differences and even my own character flaws that can become so apparent in my life. Jesus teaches that when we forgive and forgiven all that we can that we need to do it again. When I do that – I begin to have the heart of God in my life. Paul also teaches about “clothing” ourselves with love. This is a deliberate action. When I get up in the morning I put on the appropriate clothing for the day. Spiritually speaking, we need to consciously “put on” this suit of love before we even leave the house. It’s much easier to do it before you leave the house then to have to do it while you’re in a tense situation. I’m learning ever so slowly and haven’t fully arrived. I thank God for His grace that teaches me and leads me along the way.