Forgiving Each Other

One of my favorite passages in the Bible is 1 John 1:8-9, which says, "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."  Two truths I have come to understand from this passage are that I am a sinner and that God forgives me when I confess my sins.  I realize that I am a sinner before Almighty God.  As a sinner, I am broken from the inside out.  As a sinner, I need help; I need help that only God can give.  I come to God humbly confessing my sinfulness, and I embrace the forgiveness He gives; I embrace the cleansing that God gives.  He rescues me and restores me!  Forgiveness is what I need more than anything else!

Another passage in the Bible that I have come to appreciate, even though I sometimes struggle with it, is Ephesians 4:32, which says, "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you."  I'm sure you are like me.  It's not hard to be kind and compassionate to people who are kind and compassionate to me.  It's not too hard to forgive those close to me who ask me to forgive them when they have wronged me.  However, it is difficult sometimes to be kind to people, to be compassionate to people...people who are just mean to me or people who just don't like me or agree with me...and on and on and on.  It is also very difficult to forgive people like that.  But I keep going back to 1 John 1:8-9.  I am a sinner.  What does that mean?  That means at some point, I rejected and rebelled against God and against God's Word.  At some point I was an enemy of God because of my sinfulness.  In my own way of thinking, I certainly didn't do anything to earn or to deserve God's forgiveness and the cleansing He gave me.  As a matter of fact, Paul makes it clear in Ephesians 4:32.  The forgiveness I have from God is made possible "in Christ."  Paul says that we should be kind to others, be compassionate toward others, and that we should forgive others, "JUST AS IN CHRIST GOD FORGAVE YOU."  We should be kind, compassionate, and forgiving to others not because they earn it or deserve it, but because God forgave us in Christ.  We should be kind, compassionate, and forgiving to others in Christ because it models God and it glorifies God in this world.  

I don't know about you, but I need forgiveness in my life...from God and from those who I have wronged.  I need to be forgiving, as well.  I need to give forgiveness to others just as I received forgiveness from God.  As Christ followers, FORGIVING EACH OTHER is not just a good thing; it is the right thing!  It's not only what I need or you need; it's what our broken world needs.  We all need forgiveness, and we all need to give forgiveness.  I'm praying today and each day moving forward that I will be a vessel of God's forgiveness.  I'm praying today and each day moving forward that you will be a vessel of God's forgiveness.  May we be known in this world by the love of God.  May we be known for being kind and compassionate to each other.  May we be known for forgiving each other.  Amen!