Luke 23:34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” And the soldiers gambled for His clothes by throwing dice.
God’s still got me thinking about bitterness and forgiveness. I keep going back to the fact that Christ forgave His murderers while He was dying. Jesus forgave as they were casting lots for His clothes and while He was dying. They didn’t ask for forgiveness, didn’t acknowledge any wrongdoing, and were STILL inflicting injury. And He forgave, or rather, He asked His Father to forgive them because they didn’t understand, couldn’t see, what they were doing, but He could.
Psalm 38:5 My wounds stink and fester because of my foolishness….
So is the lesson, perhaps, that because He could see the transgression, that if He didn’t ask for forgiveness for them, He could be negatively affected by His feelings about their actions? Is that the human takeaway here? That because I feel I have been wronged or treated unfairly, because I perceive the infraction, that I need to ask the Father for forgiveness on their behalf for my own well-being, so that my anger and bitterness at the transgressor doesn’t get in the way of my relationship with my Savior? So that my attitude doesn’t begin to “stink and fester” because of my emotions? I’m going to have to give that idea serious thought
Isaiah 43:25 “I—yes, I alone—will blot out your sins for My own sake and will never think of them again.”
Lord, Thank You for this day and for continuing to work on my heart in the area of love and forgiveness. Thank You for the ideas that You have me pondering today, that perhaps forgiveness is in my best interest because it removes obstacles that keep me from loving and seeking You with my whole heart. Please continue making a way for me out of the wilderness of bitterness and anger. Draw me whole-heartedly closer to You. Amen.
John 13:15 I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done for you.
Have a blessed day.