IT'S SO HARD TO FORGIVE

"Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do."

Luke 23:34

Jesus came into the world with a mission that He fulfilled. He died so we can be forgiven of our sins and have access to God through Him.

Jesus walked the earth with some friends He called disciples they all had different backgrounds, upbringing and temperments. Jesus knew their flaws as He knows ours, but He chose them anyway.

He sure did not discriminate.

Saul was an anti-Christ, activist that was on a mission to persecute Christians when he was stopped by God and sent to a home where Ananias came to pray with him and help him grow in Christ. Within a few days, his life was transformed and Saul was preaching and sharing the word of God. It didn't take years at seminary to be transformed, to be delivered and share testimonies. People were able to see that he was different. He was a walking testimony, God forgave him. Jesus had disciples whose faith wavered, who got jealous, who lied and who betrayed him and in the end, He said "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do." Jesus healed the sick, the cripple walked, the blind were able to see, the deaf could hear, people that were demon-possessed were set free from bondage but Jesus was still mistreated.

Peter went to Jesus one day asking Him about forgiveness, should someone forgive the brother of his sin seven times? There was a servant who owed his master 10 talents and should've been sold (the servant, his wife and children) but the servant begged to be forgiven. The master forgave him of his debt at some point the servant saw a friend that owed him $100 and grabbed him up and had him put in prison. That friend begged to be forgiven but that first servant was not moved but on-lookers saw and were hurt by the way this guy was treating his friend. They went to the master telling him what happened and the master was angry and spoke to the servant-the first guy, 'You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I pitied you?' Jesus had so much wisdom, he knew if you can keep track of the number of times someone mistreated you it is likely you have not forgiven them. He dear not say seven times but up to seventy times seven. Did you do the math? Four-hundred and ninety. Are you keeping track of what someone did to you but still want God to forgive you of the same things? This is His response to us. You want to be forgiven but you have yet to forgive the people around that you.

But they may think I am easy, they always hurt me, or God they deserve it you see how bad they've treated me? Did you see what that person did?

In the book of 1 Samuel God anointed Saul as King and like God does with anyone of us He gave him some instructions that Saul disobeyed. Saul did what he wanted and he was later replaced with David. Saul was filled with pride and never went to God to ask for forgiveness. In the end, he was tormented by spirits and at no point did he cry out to God. He even mistreated David who forgave him over and over again. Still, David respected Saul when in the natural he could've been angry, rude or disrespectful to Saul because of the way Saul was treating him. Sometimes forgiveness can be so hard when the person has not asked for it or may be doing it over and over again. Jesus said seventy times seven. David became King during the time Saul was tormented and tried to kill David, but Saul did not give up he would not change; the Lord was giving him time to repent and find his way back. An example is like being at work, you got a promotion and the person you came to replace does not want to resign (sounds like a government job lol). The post has been filled but the person came every day to torment the new staff. The energy Saul took to torment David because he was jealous, mad or maybe intimidated by what he saw in David he chose to mistreat him he could've used to repent. David himself was not perfect David slept with his staff's wife and got her pregnant, he conspired to get Uriah to sleep with his wife to cover up the pregnancy but Uriah never went home. David set Uriah up to be killed then took Uriah's wife in his home as his wife still with every attempt to cover up his mess. In 2 Samuel 11:26- the thing that David had done displeased the Lord. And God sent a prophet as he did with the story of Saul to allow him to repent, David repented to God in the presence of Nathan.

When we sin, it comes with consequences. But God still forgives us!

Nathan prophesied that David's child with Uriah will die. David prayed and fasted but the prophecy was fulfilled. His son died. That situation that we think no one knows about God does, He is giving us time to repent to come back to Him, to get our lives right, to make right but sometimes we dig pits to hide the situation when we can go to our Father. We can get forgiveness of our sins. When David's son died David went before God and worshipped.

Many times I have messed up and made mistakes some I tried to fix and cover-up and there were other mistakes I quickly went back to God asking for forgiveness. But in the end, I had to cry out to God for help, for forgiveness and guidance.

2 Samuel 13 - David had many wives and children, one of his sons Amnon was so in love with his brother's sister Tamar. He told a friend who gave him the worse advice ever, play sick ask for Tamar to bring you food and take her. Amnon was taken away by lust (his flesh) and did as his friend told him, (I don't understand how Amnon did not see that as a bad idea). After raping Tamar his love for her turned to hate and he despised her and ran her away from his room. Wow, how the enemy came to kill, steal and destroy in this family. Absalom, Tamar's brother heard of this, he then plotted and conspired to kill Amnon. Which he did then ran away.

Every day we are tested with different situations, similar to this but others may vary. How are we going to handle these things? How do we apply seventy times seven when this was rape? God the tests are so hard.

Absalom fled leaving behind a heartbroken father, David lost two sons and had a traumatized daughter. How does a parent forgive? Did you see how some of David's strongholds fell on his children? David laid with Uriah's wife as Amnon did with Tamar and like David Absalom killed Amnon. How can David not forgive either one of his sons when they got some of their actions from him? It is easy to forget what we have done when we have already moved on. David was faced with his very own problem, he needed to take a look in the mirror because this was his reflection. Two brothers allowed their flesh and the enemy to win in this situation.

How do forgive in a situation like Esau and Jacob? Jacob robbed Esau of his blessing, he left went looking for a wife that was supposed to be Esau's to also be robbed and swindled by his uncle/Father-in-law of wages and livestock. The wages of sin is death. In the end, Esau forgave Jacob and received him with open arms (so sweet). There is no book in the Bible that we cannot use as an example for our lives we can see actions and consequences to those actions in each story. Stories of deception, anger, hurt, bitterness emotions and feelings we experience daily but forgiveness is the way out, forgiveness heals the brokenhearted and tormented. In Genesis 38 Er married a woman named Tamar. Back then if a man died with no heir the brother was to take his dead brother's wife (I guess no one would want her anyway) so Onan married her but he did not want to conceive with her and he died. Judah promised the last son to Tamar knowing in his heart that he would never give his son to her. She pretended to be a prostitute and played a trick on Judah keeping items (signet ring, staff and cord) as payment. She conceived a child for Judah. Judah sent the payment back but they could not find this prostitute who Judah had described. When Judah heard that his daughter-in-law was pregnant he sent for her to burnt (he was never planning on letting her marry the last son, the two ther son died so she tricked him).

Wow, he forgot that he slept with a prostitute (he sinned) but was willing for Tamar to be killed because of her sin (wicked servant-when the tables are turned smh). Tamar played her cards-the signet ring, cord and staff were in her possession, she was the prostitute, dad realized he got played. Judah, it's time for you to forgive. We all sin and it takes grace to forgive someone that has done wrong to you, that used you, that mistreated you.

For all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. Romans 3:23-24

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