Forgiveness

Sounds like an easy concept, right? When someone does you wrong, they apologize and you forgive them. Unfortunately, it doesn't always work that way.

I'm the kind of person that hates conflict. I don't like to be on bad terms with anybody and am ready to forgive somebody the moment they apologize for something they did to me. But I'm also a person who hold grudges when people don't apologize or don't even realize that they've hurt me. I don't understand how some people can be so blind to the way they treat me or people I love and often find myself talking bad about them and judging them.

I was recently treated so poorly by someone who I thought cared deeply about me. I discovered that this person that I put so much trust in had been lying to me about many things. My initial reaction was to go and talk trash about this person to my friends, which I'm not gonna lie made me feel better at the moment, but I was still extremely upset about the situation. Later during my quiet time with God I realized something. Being hurtful and judgmental brought me to the same level as the person I considered to be so mean and that was not where I wanted to be. Despite the fact that this person treated me so poorly, God still loves that person just as much as He loves me and my duty as a follower of God is to show that same love.

Once I learned to accept the apology I never got and forgive the person, I was so much happier. Letting all that hurt and anger swell up in my heart was not healthy and being furious was exhausting. The way I was treated showed me that I deserve much better, that the plans God has for me are so much greater than that one person, and that I didn't need that person to be happy. More importantly, I realized that God planned for that pain in my life so I could grow from it and learn how to love uncomfortably.

I discussed this concept of loving uncomfortably with a friend last night. Something she mentioned that really stuck with me was that our sole purpose on earth is to love others. My first thought when I heard this was "surely that's not true; God has many other purposes for His followers, like ministry, mission work, etc." But if you break them down, the root of all of those purposes is love. We minister and share the word to help others be saved and grow closer to God, which is a huge display of love. We do mission and volunteer work to help others who are struggling, which also is an act of love.

But what about every day life? How can we love in the way God wants us to on a day-to-day basis? This is the part that can be uncomfortable. Of course it's easy to love the people who love us and show us affection. But the people who put us down and make it so hard to love are the ones who need love the most. In this broken world, chances are those people have been dealt some tough stuff. Although there is no excuse to treat anyone poorly, people are often made hard and mean by the tough situations they've had to face. The best, and probably hardest, thing to do when someone has hurt you is to pray for them. They probably haven't had it so easy and the fact that they're being so hurtful to people shows that they're most likely not turning to God in their pain. Pray that those people can find peace in God so they don't have to take it out on others. Pray that you can have the strength and patience to be as loving to them as Christ was to you. Keep in mind how undeserving we were of Christ's forgiveness and love and how he didn't hesitate to pay the full price for us on the cross. Show this same grace to those who put you down and you will find joy and inner peace.

I thought these lyrics from Tenth Avenue North's song, "Losing" we're very fitting:
"Lord it doesn't feel right
For me to turn a blind eye
Though I guess it's not that much
When I think of what You've done."

“You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike." Matthew 5:43-45

 

Some cute pictures from this weekend:

My lovely friend Hannah

My friends at the Homecoming game

My precious grandparents :)