Luke 17:3-4

"Luke," (asthmatic gasp) "It is your destiny."

Oh, wait, wrong Luke.

I came upon the coolest article based on what we were
discussing at church today (3/2/2005)...

http://www.falwell.com/?a=howto&chapter=05

An excerpt:

"The Necessity of Forgiveness

Forgiveness is the key that unlocks the door of
bitterness. It will set your heart free to love again.

The longer we live, the more we may be hurt. Jesus
warned His disciples, It is impossible but that
offences will come (Luke 17:1).

Life is full of hurts, and it always will be. As long
as you live, you will be hurt, offended, and
disappointed. But you need not be alarmed. You can
learn to rise above life's hurts.

Bitterness is dangerous to healthy Christian living. A
bitter attitude will eat away the vitality of your
spiritual life and plague your soul like a spiritual
cancer. Bitterness destroys lives, families,
marriages, friendships, and even churches.
Nevertheless, there is a powerful cure for this
dreadful scourge. That cure is forgiveness.

When we learn to forgive others, we can rise above the
hurts and disappointments of life. Forgiveness is one
of the most powerful forces in a believer's life. It
can melt the hardest heart and clear the most clouded
conscience. When used properly, forgiveness paves the
way for reconciliation. It is the key to God's
abundant blessings and unlocks the soul to the work of
the Holy Spirit.

Jesus told His disciples how to handle the problem of
hurt by learning to forgive. He said, Take heed to
yourselves: if thy brother trespass against thee,
rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him (Luke 17:3).
We have two obligations when we are offended. The
first is to rebuke. This is not to be a verbal blast,
but a statement of honesty - "What you said really
offended me." It should be given sincerely and gently
in the same spirit in which you would want someone
else to rebuke you. Second, we are to forgive those
who repent (change their mind and actions) as a result
of our rebuke. Remember, forgiveness and
reconciliation is the goal of any rebuke. It takes a
great deal of spiritual maturity to give and receive
such a rebuke with the right heart attitude.

An unforgiving spirit. In the parable of the
Unforgiving Servant, the Scripture clearly states that
an unforgiving spirit is the mark of an unconverted
soul. Though forgiven a 10,000-talent debt (equivalent
to 10 million dollars), the servant vindictively held
a 100-pence debt (less than a dollar) against his
fellow servant. In the parable, the unforgiving
servant was described as "wicked" and he was thrown
out by his master.

True Christians are known by their forgiving spirit.
We who have been forgiven a lifetime of sins by God,
ought to be willing to forgive the sins and wrongs
others do to us.

Jesus went as far as to say that we should forgive
seven times a day if necessary. To which the disciples
said to the Lord, Increase our faith (Luke 17:5).
Jesus responded by telling them that if they had faith
even as tiny as a grain of a mustard seed they could
remove mountains. He meant that they did not need more
faith; they simply needed to exercise the faith they
already had. Every believer has all the faith he or
she needs in order to forgive others.

Selfishness is the root of an unforgiving spirit.
Selfish people are easily offended. They are quick to
get angry and justify their unforgiving attitude. They
think the world revolves around them. They never see
themselves as God actually sees them.

Excuses for not forgiving. In our selfishness, we
invent a myriad of excuses for not forgiving those who
hurt us:

Revenge. I enjoy hating him. Besides, he deserves it.

Anger. I'm too upset to forgive him. He has hurt me
too deeply.

Fear. If I forgive him, I'll just get hurt again.

Pride. I was right. I didn't do anything wrong; he
did.

Emotion. I'm too hurt. I don't feel like forgiving.

Guilt. I can't even forgive myself, let alone him.

Worry. If I try to forgive him, I'll be misunderstood.

The ultimate excuse is I can't forgive. "I can't"
really means "I won't" forgive. But if the Spirit of
God lives within you, you can learn to forgive anyone.
God always empowers us to do what is right. His grace
is sufficient to enable us to forgive. When we do, we
confirm what Christ did for us at the Cross when He
died for our sins so that we might be forgiven.

The powerful and positive force of forgiveness will
unlock your embittered spirit and set the power of God
free in your soul. The apostle Paul said, Let all
bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and
evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice
(Ephesians 4:31). He went on to say that these
negative emotions were to be replaced by being kind,
tender, and forgiving (Ephesians 4:32).

Asking forgiveness. It takes a mature Christian to
admit his failures and ask forgiveness. Immature and
selfish people can never seem to bring themselves to
do it. Sadly, they continue living a defeated life
because of guilt and bitterness. But the solution to
their struggle is only a step away. Seeking
forgiveness means admitting our failures and trying to
correct them.

If you know (or even suspect) that you have wronged
someone, go to him and ask his forgiveness. Don't wait
for him to come to you. Take the first step. Don't
offer any excuses (it will offend him further). Tell
him you know you have wronged him. Tell him you are
sorry, and ask him to forgive you. It is that simple,
and it can make all the difference in your life.

Granting forgiveness. Sometimes, granting forgiveness
is more difficult than asking for it. Somehow we want
to think the other person should have to ask, but he
does not deserve to be forgiven. Jesus repudiated that
idea when He told his disciples to forgive everyone
who repents, every time.

Peter had once heard Jesus say to forgive seven times
a day (see Luke 17:4). But this time He said, seventy
times seven (Matthew 18:22). I am sure the Lord did
not mean that we are to keep count all the way to 490.
He meant that we should be willing to forgive again
and again, until forgiveness becomes the habit and
character of our lives. If you want to learn how to
get along with others, learn how to forgive."

Cool, huh?