Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven. Matt. 18:21,22

I know that no matter how many times others may hurt me, I must forgive them. I do it because the Lord would have it, and it is the fulfillment of the law of loving my neighbor as myself. I also do it because I have learned that unforgiveness makes a bitterness in my heart. Do not let the sun set on your anger is another verse, not letting the enemy have a toehold, because its destructive. Bitterness leads to anger, and it leads to hate. Pure and simple. Unforgiveness festers in your heart and the only one you are hurting is yourself. So many wars would not be fought if forgiveness were the rule instead of the exception. NO matter who does what to you in your Christian walk, you are to forgive, because God will deal with the others person’s heart and He will heal yours. It just frees you up to love, and to love well. The hardest one to forgive is yourself, remember no one is perfect least of all you. There is only ONE who is perfect, and who, as He was dying on the cross, asked His Father to forgive them. Maybe we should too.

I usually get personal and talk as I am reading this, but today, I was reminded of what evil men can do to others, what hard things, and words they can say. A lot is done in the name of love, and most hurts caused in my Christian walk has been by fellow believers. I just have to remember that God sees their heart too, and forgives them more than I. I hope I didn’t offend anyone today, or cause any hurts, because if I did, I truly want to be forgiven by them. I don’t want them to become bitter and alienate themselves from God. The only thing I can say is this, I am sorry, please forgive me.