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"If you forgive men their transgressions,
your heavenly Father will forgive you.
But if you do not forgive men,
neither will your Father forgive your transgressions."
You cannot say that we were not warned. How many people are there on this earth that are carrying a heavy load of hatred on their backs? The saddest part of being burdened with hate is simply it is a burden that no one will help you carry. It is yours, and yours alone to trudge around with. It affects your health, it affects your mental health, it does no one any good but you still carry it.
Read the scripture passage again. Read it slowly, let it sink into your very soul. Forgiving someone is not just a suggestion from Jesus, it is a command. Let me tell you about something that happened to me. This is a true story.
My mother worked for a doctor. As part of her employee benefits, she was to receive free medical care. One day she showed a growth on her shoulder to the doctor. The doctor though nothing of it and gave her some ointment to put on it. after four months of this "treatment" it was no better. My mother visited with another doctor friend and showed him the growth. He immediately put her into the hospital where the cancer was removed. She received treatments and scans showed that she appeared to be cancer free. Them, about six months later the scans revealed the cancer was back in the form of a very aggressive form of lung cancer. Mom was scheduled for surgery and her children were there and she was sent off to the operating room knowing that she was loved. The surgeon did the best he could and the surgery bought Mom about a year he said. Four days later my mother lapsed into a coma, she had given up. She died with her children around her. At the funeral I noticed two women sitting alone and I went up to them and thanked them for coming. My sister came up to me afterwards and told me that one of the ladies, she pointed out which one, was the doctor that cared so very little that she could not be bothered to properly treat my mother. At that moment my heart filled with hate for this so-called doctor. We buried my mother and I went into depression. I did not recognize it as depression. I lost interest in things. I was a great reader and kept reading the same books over and over. I quit taking care of the little things in life and felt sad all of the time. Had that doctor come before me during this time, I think that I would have been capable of killing her and believing that I had done the world a favor. The hate had possession of my soul. Going to work every day I passed a Catholic Church. It was my habit to make the sign of the cross when I passed a church because I knew that inside those walls was the Holy Eucharist, the very Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ. One day i had followed my custom when I heard a voice inside me telling me to forgive that doctor. I broke, then and there, with tears in my eyes I forgave that doctor. At that very moment, the cloud I was living under disbursed, the depression left me and I was able to take up life again. There was one lasting effect that I carry with me to this very day. I cannot hate anymore. I have forgiven the woman that killed my mother. What more could you do to me that would be worse?
I think that the important part of this story is that forgiving did much more for me than it did for the person I forgave. It gave me my life back. Besides, the person who was the object of my hate did not even know it. So, forgiveness will bring much more to you. It will bring peace to your soul. Mind you, I would not invite this woman to lunch, but I also would wish her no harm and I prayed that God would bless her. Was this hard to do? Well, it took me six months of misery and pain to do it, so it was not the easiest thing I have ever done. But the peace it brought to me was a gift from God
Do not forget that for a Christian, forgiving is not optional, it is required. We cannot enter heaven with hate on our soul. Heaven is a place of great joy and happiness and discord is not allowed there. Imagine if I met this doctor in heaven and still had hate in my heart for her. Hate cannot exist in heaven for God is Love.
Read the scripture passage again. Read it slowly, let it sink into your very soul. Forgiving someone is not just a suggestion from Jesus, it is a command. Let me tell you about something that happened to me. This is a true story.
My mother worked for a doctor. As part of her employee benefits, she was to receive free medical care. One day she showed a growth on her shoulder to the doctor. The doctor though nothing of it and gave her some ointment to put on it. after four months of this "treatment" it was no better. My mother visited with another doctor friend and showed him the growth. He immediately put her into the hospital where the cancer was removed. She received treatments and scans showed that she appeared to be cancer free. Them, about six months later the scans revealed the cancer was back in the form of a very aggressive form of lung cancer. Mom was scheduled for surgery and her children were there and she was sent off to the operating room knowing that she was loved. The surgeon did the best he could and the surgery bought Mom about a year he said. Four days later my mother lapsed into a coma, she had given up. She died with her children around her. At the funeral I noticed two women sitting alone and I went up to them and thanked them for coming. My sister came up to me afterwards and told me that one of the ladies, she pointed out which one, was the doctor that cared so very little that she could not be bothered to properly treat my mother. At that moment my heart filled with hate for this so-called doctor. We buried my mother and I went into depression. I did not recognize it as depression. I lost interest in things. I was a great reader and kept reading the same books over and over. I quit taking care of the little things in life and felt sad all of the time. Had that doctor come before me during this time, I think that I would have been capable of killing her and believing that I had done the world a favor. The hate had possession of my soul. Going to work every day I passed a Catholic Church. It was my habit to make the sign of the cross when I passed a church because I knew that inside those walls was the Holy Eucharist, the very Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ. One day i had followed my custom when I heard a voice inside me telling me to forgive that doctor. I broke, then and there, with tears in my eyes I forgave that doctor. At that very moment, the cloud I was living under disbursed, the depression left me and I was able to take up life again. There was one lasting effect that I carry with me to this very day. I cannot hate anymore. I have forgiven the woman that killed my mother. What more could you do to me that would be worse?
I think that the important part of this story is that forgiving did much more for me than it did for the person I forgave. It gave me my life back. Besides, the person who was the object of my hate did not even know it. So, forgiveness will bring much more to you. It will bring peace to your soul. Mind you, I would not invite this woman to lunch, but I also would wish her no harm and I prayed that God would bless her. Was this hard to do? Well, it took me six months of misery and pain to do it, so it was not the easiest thing I have ever done. But the peace it brought to me was a gift from God
Do not forget that for a Christian, forgiving is not optional, it is required. We cannot enter heaven with hate on our soul. Heaven is a place of great joy and happiness and discord is not allowed there. Imagine if I met this doctor in heaven and still had hate in my heart for her. Hate cannot exist in heaven for God is Love.
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