As I continue my study in the principle of testing from people, God again is making me learn this point. You will never be able to handle situations where people are either antagonistic to you or otherwise distracting you without being able to truly forgive people.

Ephesians 4:32

32 Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.

It’s so hard when someone wrongs you! They may spread untrue rumors about you, talk bad about you to someone, or even say something petty and mean directly to you. To truly be able to pass this test, you must forgive that person, whether they ask you to or not! From the verse above, it’s all about understanding first how completely and totally God forgives YOU.

It’s easy for us to say, “okay, I forgive them, but I’m not going to forget!” That’s not really forgiving! What does the Word of God say about this? How does God forgive us? Does He remember our sins?

Hebrews 8:12

12 "FOR I WILL BE MERCIFUL TO THEIR INIQUITIES,

AND I WILL REMEMBER THEIR SINS NO MORE."

When you use the forgiveness God gives you as the model for how you forgive others, you realize that you are not to remember when someone wrongs you! This means that when someone mistreats you, you cannot take that transgression into account when you deal with them:

Proverbs 19:11

11 A man's discretion makes him slow to anger,

And it is his glory to overlook a transgression.

This is a big part of operating in real virtue love towards other people:

1 Corinthians 13:4

4 Love is patient, …

5 …, does not take into account a wrong suffered,

The word for patient is the Greek MAKROTHUMEIA, and it means to be patient, to be long-suffering, and to hold up and not retaliate under undeserved suffering. Isn’t it easy to treat someone differently after they have wronged you?! Your responsibility as a Christian is to represent to other people how the forgiveness of God works. When you hold onto a grudge, or treat someone differently when they mistreat you, you are treating that person the opposite way that God treats you.

1 Peter 4:8

8 Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.

The word for covers is KALUPTO, and it means to cover up, or to build a roof over something. Your responsibility is not to let other people know how that person has mistreated you, but to build a roof over it!

True forgiveness can be very difficult! Only by learning how God forgives us, and having a real desire to represent Christian forgiveness to others can we truly live up to this ideal. But once you understand it and live in it, it will solve ALL your problems with people! You will have no bitterness, no anger, no revenge!

I apologize for not sending any lessons from Wednesday to today. I hope you will all forgive me.