Book 3 of Musings Forgive, and You Shall Be Forgiven

Forgive, and you shall be forgiven. Show mercy, and mercy shall be shown to you.

People shall deal with you in the same manner that you have dealt with others.

I don't talk much about a "secret of the Christian life." For one thing, the Christian life is simply that of abiding in Christ; and yet there are so many facets of it that one is hard put to set forth one major "secret." What is important today gives way to another principle tomorrow. Then today's "secret" returns at some point in the future.

But if there is one sort of universal "secret" it is that of forgiveness.

There is a considerable amount of bitterness in the Christian churches. There probably always has been. People are treated unjustly; or sometimes they become angry for no reason other than the acting out of their own sinful nature.

All of us Christians on numerous occasions are placed in a position where we are tempted to harbor bitterness, hatred, a desire for revenge.

How we react to this temptation can very well determine whether we are going to be counted as a victorious saint. In fact, our eternal destiny may be affected.

Years ago the Lord put me through a difficult season. On one occasion I became very provoked at a certain individual. I had a difficult time letting go of my anger.

I finally called on the Lord to grant me the virtue in the blood of Jesus. There is tremendous forgiving virtue in the blood of Christ, because of His statement on the cross: "Father forgive them because they do not know what they are doing."

Soon I received the grace I needed to let that thing go.

On another occasion, when I was a young Christian, I developed anger toward one of the elders of the church I attended. I finally got down on my knees and asked the Lord to help me forgive this man.

Instantly my eyes were opened. I could see that I already had come to Mount Zion. It was as though I was in the center of an arena surround by a multitude of observers.

I checked out the verse in Hebrews. Sure enough, it is present tense.

O that our eyes were opened like the servant of Elisha!

We absolutely must forgive. Sometimes believers will chew on some old bone that should have been buried many years ago. This sort of bitterness prevents our growth in the Lord.

We simply have to let it go!

If we hold another person in judgment, that individual is hindered and so are we. Do we want to be the cause of someone else's downfall?

One of the greatest of the problems of today seems to be that concerning a man or woman who was molested as a child. Sometimes the molested person seems to be able to block this from memory until the late twenties or early thirties. Then he or she will begin to exhibit symptoms of distress, which a psychologist or psychiatrist finally will diagnose as childhood molestation.

In our church we advise professional help for the adult who has been molested as a child. However, the final healing must come from Jesus.

A great deal of Divine virtue is required if the person is to be able to forgive the father, or uncle, or brother, or stranger who committed this heinous crime.

The good news is that the wound can be healed. But the victim must make an effort to obtain the Lord's help; for in many instances the sense of injustice and betrayal is more then we can overcome.

Leaving the area of molestation and thinking about other reasons for bitterness, many times we are responsible in whole or in part for the wound we received. Ordinarily people do not set out to harm us. But we see ourselves as having been harmed or treated unjustly, and need to blame someone. The need to blame people for our discomfort is a major characteristic of our fallen, adamic nature.

God has said He will not forgive us unless we are willing to forgive others-the issue is that important in the Kingdom of God!

God wants each one of us to have a joyful spirit so we can sing and make melody in our heart to the Lord. We cannot have a joyful, open spirit when we are harboring anger toward someone.

The great red dragon is the accuser of the brothers. When we yield to the desire to condemn someone, we receive all the help we need from the dragon. One of his chief delights is to set brother against brother; sister against sister; and he is quite successful in his efforts.

When there is strife and animosity in a local church, the Spirit of God may cease operating there until the problem is solved. It is just like our human body. When we become ill we cease working and rest until we are healed.

Bitterness is endemic in the Christian churches. Each one of us must search his or her heart to see if we are harboring unforgiveness toward someone, whether that individual is a believer or not. If we find hatred and bitterness in our heart, then we must go to the Lord immediately as though our house were on fire and begin to pray mightily for deliverance.

The reason it is so difficult for us to forgive is that Satan has thrown his net over us. We have to cry out to the Lord until that bondage is broken and we are able to forgive everyone freely.

We usually do not have to go to the person and tell them we have forgiven them; or throw our arms around them and kiss them. The important aspect is the attitude of our heart toward the Lord. If that individual whom we hate has gotten between us and the Lord and is hindering our prayers, then we have to work it out with God.

Very often the hated individual will feel the change in our spirit and begin to act differently. We have let him or her out of jail. On other occasions the person will continue to be our enemy. That is not our responsibility. Our responsibility ceases when we can look up to the Lord and not feel animosity toward the person.

The world today is in a rage against God, to a great extent. God's response is to laugh. Why? Because He is so great in power and authority that no one can really hurt Him.

It is the same with you. If you are serving the Lord as you should, then that same power and authority is protecting you. Therefore you can afford to be generous of spirit and to laugh with God.

Why don't you and I do just that!

Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." (Luke 6:37-38)