Never, in all of the time I have tried to study God’s Word, have I heard the Spirit speak more clearly, on how we are to treat one another. As I have tried to listen to the voice of the Lord, for what He might have me say and write, I have been continually led to many of the same type verses. Things like, forbearing one another in love, having bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness and longsuffering; over and over again. What do you think, the Spirit is trying to say in all of this?

Why is there such an urgency to forgive? One thing is certain; some of us, have held on to things for years; there’s no need in pretending we haven’t. Anyone who says they haven’t, is likely not telling the truth.

May I share one thing I learned lately? There was a minister among our group, who was divorced many years ago. It was back in the time when that was totally unacceptable; other than infidelity. Some said, the woman had emotional problems of some sort; that was what was told. Most felt the man had no right to remarry; it was different back in that day. Many, were unforgiving.

I don’t want to stir up strive; we have enough of that. The man was a very successful pastor; he was asked to step down from his post. His peers had him move to another state, and he was re-instated there; and seemed to continue and flourish. I listened to the wrong people; the ones whom I had heard preaching over the years. I resented the fact that his political pull, let him have help, most others likely would not have gotten. Those people are now all gone. I didn’t know until recently, that I still held that against that man. As much as I have talked restoration, I had not forgiven him for this.

I was hung up on the church politics aspect. The truth is, it doesn’t matter what the whole thing was about; I was holding onto a resentment that I had no business continuing. There’s been all kind of quarrels throughout all of that church politics; to include, splitting up in different groups and taking sides against one another. Even one affiliation, against another; and it is still going on today; brother, against brother.

You know what I am thinking about at this moment, what if Jesus were to come back now? Would He not catch some of us, with things in our hearts against other people; seriously.
Some things are hard to forgive; whether it be what we’ve done to them, or what they’ve done to us.

The Apostle stopped here, and made a comment that we all need to revisit. “Even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.” I do not want to sound crude, but some of us, are holding on to things we have against certain people, and they have been dead and gone, for years. The man I mentioned, repented, and went on to heaven; while I continued to stumble around carrying a grudge most people, didn’t even remember.

We often carry a strong dislike for someone, and not recognize it for what it is. If we were to leave this world, could we say, that our conscience, is clear?

Robert Blackburn