September 28, 2022 – Walking In Forgiveness

“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” Matthew 5:7

“Jesus adds the merciful to those who should see themselves as blessed. Why? They, too, will receive mercy. Jesus is most likely referring to receiving mercy from God. Generally, it is the character of God to show mercy to the merciful (Psalm 18:25). The reverse should also be true but it’s not always the case. Those who have received mercy from God ought to be merciful to others. The series of nine sentences (in Matthew 5) describes an unlikely group of people as blessed: the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those hungry for righteousness, and the merciful. All are blessed because of their part in the kingdom of heaven. This includes those persecuted for the sake of righteousness and on account of Jesus. Instead of despairing, they should rejoice for the great rewards they will receive in heaven. These are not prerequisites for salvation; instead, they are the natural expressions of saving faith in the life of those who know Christ.”(BibleRef.com)

Has your resentment brought you relief? That is question that all of us must ask ourselves often. Why? Because we live in a world that would like nothing better than to see us bite and tear each other apart — even if the one biting and tearing is us. The Greek word for forgiveness literally means to “let go”. We let go of the things that have hurt us because to hold on to them means that we release our attention and our grip on our relationship with G-d. Letting go of resentments means we can hold onto the teachings of Christ, which includes love, mercy and grace.

Get over it or get even. Let it heal or turn to hate. Release it or resent it. Resentment allows whatever’s eating you, to eat you up. It certainly is our choice….

Let us pray,

Lord help me today to let go off my hurts and to hold onto your love, mercy and grace. Perhaps this will allow me to be more forgiving of others. Amen.

Pastor Dave