I wanted to share this awesome article today with you guys as part of my own blog meme which is:
By: Jasmien Hudson
Jesus gave strict instructions to "bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you." (Luke 6:28). Doing such things is one way we step further into our true "sonship" in Jesus Christ. Understand, being born into God's family is a gift, but taking on his traits - such as forgiveness - is a choice. True forgiveness comes when we choose to give up our right to our feelings in exchange for the God's will in a given situation.
If you are harboring incomplete forgiveness (i.e., bitterness) you might want to consider the following:
1) Where would you be if God did not forgive you for some the things you've done, are doing, and will do?
2) What blessings of your own might you be blocking due to a lack of forgiveness?
3) What negative impact(s) is/are unforgiveness having on your life?
For me, the most profound notion that taught me to forgive is this: I was warring with myself, because my object had no idea how I was feeling. But whether covert or overt, unforgiveness hurts you more than the other person!
Before you decide to keep unforgiveness alive, ask yourself this:
Will this matter next year, next month, tomorrow, and above all, will it impact my eternity? If the answer is "No", you’ve got several reasons to let it go!
You have no idea how timely this article is to me! I was having some problems with my MIL this afternoon but happy to say that we've evaded any major arguments. I don't want to dwell or elaborate more on what was mentioned but I guess I really have to just let it go and forgive. Hubby (youngest out of 5) is the only one left who is staying on and live together with his mum. The rest of his siblings are all either married with their own family or have their own house. I mean, my MIL is already 60+ years old, no one knows for sure how many years on earth we all still have, why waste time on arguing and feeling bitter right?
Oh God, please give me strength and patience to not dwell on things like this. Give me an open mind and open heart to accept that it is not up to me to change a person. All I can do is pray that their mind and heart will be opened up to listen to others, willing to accept other people's suggestions and feedbacks and to understand that we all meant the best for her.
Proverbs 19:11 (NIV): A man's wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense.
Ecclesiastes 7:8 (NIV): The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride.
Colossians 3:12 (NIV): Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
