One thing we have difficulty doing in the church today is moving past the words that people have said. This inability to move past the past and stop holding a grudge leads to division, disunity, misunderstanding and an unwillingness to forgive and heal. This is judging plain and simple. The Bible warns that we do not judge for with the same judgment that we judge we shall be judged and with the same measuring stick that we measure we shall be measured. It is impossible for us to receive forgiveness when we refuse to forgive. Some of us think we have forgiven so let me share with you how you know you haven't. You haven't forgiven if when you see someone that you had an issue with you get the same feelings of anger and resentment that you had before. You haven't forgiven if you still can't speak to that person. You haven't forgiven and your life cannot move forward. You are in a holding pattern. You will continue to wonder why you can't prosper and why things seem to keep happening to you. God is not mocked and you cannot fool Him. His word is true. You cannot receive forgiveness if you don't forgive and how can you profess to love God--whom you cannot see--when you do not love your brother--whom you see daily. Love covers a multitude of sins. If you love me then you are willing to forgive me and to treat me as though we never had a problem.
There is a misconception in the church that people will like each other because they have a common goal. I have learned from my work experience that I am not going to like everyone that I work with, but that has never stopped me from completing my work and accomplishing company goals nor does it make me treat people unfairly or to be dishonest or to act without integrity. For some reason in the church we feel that we must like each other. We are on the same team and we MUST love each other and hopefully that love will generate friendship, closeness and trust, but in the case that it doesn't we must still work together in unity and solidarity to take back God's kingdom. That means that just because I'm not in your click doesn't mean that you get to treat me stank. I may not be in your click, but we are on the same team--the body of Christ. I am not going to stand for anyone trying to hurt you or treat you poorly and I am going to pray for you because I love my body and I wouldn't want anything to happen to any part of it. Seems like many church folk would amputate the parts that they can't stand.
Matthew 26:34 finds Jesus informing that Peter was going to deny him three times before the cock crowed. The story continues on to find Peter denying his close friend, his savior and his Lord, and not just denying Jesus, but cursing to make it clear that he was not with Jesus. Many modern day church people having heard Peter deny Jesus would have shunned him and stopped associating with him. What we fail to realize is that all of this was part of God's master plan. If Peter hadn't denied Jesus he would have surely perished with Jesus and he would not have become the rock on which the Church was built as Jesus had prophesied into his life.
The fact is we are human and in any given time and space of our misunderstanding or lack of ability to see the whole picture we may do and say regrettable things. I mean really we esteem Paul so very highly as the writer of much of the New Testament and we credit him as the Apostle that brought the word of salvation to the gentiles--us. But this man was a murderer. He pulled men, women and children out of their homes so that they could be executed for claiming Jesus Christ as Lord. It is so interesting how we are able to look over this in our hindsight and give him so much esteem yet we cannot even share simple information with our brothers and sisters so that we can all be on the same page. In fact we will purposefully withhold information so that we can feed our own selfish jealousy; driving a deeper wedge in the relationship.
When will it be over? When will you forgive me and move on from who you thought I used to be? Who will realize that my past is in the past. If Jesus isn't holding my past against me why are you? He said He threw it into a sea of forgetfulness so why are you diving in and getting it back out and throwing it in my face? That's a lot of effort when it's so much easier to love.
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