August 7, 2020

What do we do when we are hurt? How are we responding to the way people may treat us on any given day? Do we walk in forgiveness or do we just walk? Have we said that we have forgiven them, yet we still talk about the incident?
LadyBug, we cannot let ourselves be taken back because we refuse to just forgive. Sometimes in order to forgive, we have to confront people. There are also times we need to confront them so we can forgive them. To just drop someone from your life because you were offended is not how God wants us to handle our hurts. Not only does it hurt us, but when we walk away without letting them know, we are hurting them. You know as well as I do that sometimes things happen, and they are purely accidental. Even in the middle of dying on the cross, Jesus forgave those who didn’t even know what they were doing. How do we follow this example? Maybe we follow by just laying it bare before God and forgiving those who have hurt us. In today’s world, there are many ways to approach someone who has hurt you. You can phone them, text them, send them a video, or even email them. However, you choose, trying to rectify the situation is the right thing to do according to God’s word. If they do not listen or receive, then that is on them. But stepping out of the comfort zone is the way to forgiveness.
Before you cast a person away, you are to go to them and talk to them about the situation. If that does not work then take others with you before going before the church. Then and only then can you cast them aside. I have yet to see anyone handle an offense in this manner. Sometimes I wonder if this is because we do not want to confront them for fear of being wrong. What if we confront them and we misunderstood the entire situation? What if we are to blame just as much as they are?
I think if we get to bound up by religion we miss the point. The point is we must go to the person in truth and with grace. Our goal should be to rectify the issue and not focus on whether or not we are right. Forgiveness is the result that we should be looking for in these situations.
Let us always be able to forgive as well as go to one another about the offense. I promise if you come to me, I will listen, and we will work through it together.
~ Cyndi Kay
Matthew 18:15
Leviticus 19:17
Colossians 3:13
Luke 17:3-4