Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have
anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive
you your transgressions. Mark 11:25 NASB
We all want grace. We want to be forgiven for
the wrongs we've done. But giving grace? That is another thing entirely.
Most of us have a sense of justice built in.
When fighting for people who are oppressed or when deciding who is right or
wrong in a situation, our sense of justice is a great help. The time when my
sense of justice can be a drawback? Any time I need to exercise forgiveness.
Forgiving someone who has done something wrong
can be tough. We’ve all seen extraordinary examples of people forgiving someone
who has committed an atrocity against them. It seems impossible. That’s because
without God’s grace, it is.
We don’t spend most of our time dealing with
someone who has done us an enormous wrong. It is the petty wrongs that we have
to forgive over and over. A child lies, a coworker takes credit, a friend
snubs… These are the constant daily wrongs that call for us to exercise
forgiveness and grace. Are they really wrong? Yes. Are they perhaps small? Yes.
Do they really need me to exercise forgiveness and grace? Yes. Is that really
hard? YOU BETCHA!
Jesus said, “Whenever you stand praying,
forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in
heaven will also forgive you your transgressions.” If you have anything,
ANYTHING, Jesus said to forgive it. We recognize that the big, monumental
things are difficult to forgive, but how are you at forgiving the daily
injustices that you endure. I have a sneaking suspicion that those we see
exercising grace and forgiveness in ways that look miraculous to us (because
they are) have been practicing on those little things all along.
What little things do you have a tough time
forgiving?
Who do you need to show grace to, whether their offense is big or
small?
Make an effort today to consciously forgive those that wrong you.
Sharla Tilley spends most of her time with her crazy six year old and her awesome husband. She is a writer, storyteller, actress, speaker, starter of projects, and rabid chocolate fan who prays daily that she's not too distracted by every shiny squirrel to follow the path that God has for her.
