Can You Forgive?

by Dan McDonald...The concept of forgiveness seems to be often overlooked. Jesus was pretty straight-forward when 'forgiving others' was the issue at hand. Let's take a look at children; this is exactly what Jesus did. He said that unless we humble ourselves as "these precious little ones, we will not enter the Kingdom" (rest). Examine the innocence of children and how they trust and forgive readily...unfortunately many of them reach a certain age and and this virtuousness seems to vanish, and they can be downright mean, sometimes! We can blame it on anything we want; however, when the truth 'be told,' these blameless children are just mere reflections of those who've raised them. Let's take a retrospective look at our own lives and make sure we are holding nothing against another person. For, in Matthew 18, the Lord shares a poignant parable about someone who didn't forgive. His punishment was quite cruel and rather tortuous(verses 21 - 34). Verse 35 of that chapter says this: "So my heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does NOT forgive his brother (or sister) his trespasses.".....On a positive note, let's forgive and love one another as the Lord has loved and forgiven us.