Tear Down the Wall

We had a great service this past Wed night. The message I gave was called "Tear Down the Wall". It focused on how the Bible commands us to forgive those that sinned against us and when we do not we put up a wall. A wall between us and that person and a wall between us and God. Mark 11:25 says, "And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins". Wow. Offenses will come (Luke 17:1), but we must learn to forgive.

Forgiveness is the willingness to give up your resentment toward someone who has wronged you, regardless of how serious or painful that wrong might have been. In other words, you renounce any desire to get even. We can identify three elements to forgiveness: to give up resentment about the wrong; to give up resentment toward the wrongdoer; and to give up plans for retaliation. Forgiveness is more than just saying some words; it must come from the heart.

You may be saying, but you do not know what I went through. You do not know what happened to me. You are right, I do not, but God does. He promises to work all things together for our good (Romans 8:28), and tells us that we can do all things through Him who strengthens us (Phil 4:13). So go ahead and Tear Down that Wall and Forgive. It will not be easy and you may never "forget" but you can "FORGIVE"! And when you forgive it will bring freedom.

I end with this: Eph 4:32 - "And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you."

- Jason