Peniel

We erroneously reason that keeping the psychological and emotional pain alive and holding on to our injury by rehearsing the matter over and over, detail by detail, will serve to make us wiser and protect us from future assaults.

When we allow this seed to enter (be it ever so subtle), justification and retaliation are unconsciously cultivated. Revenge sadly becomes the foundation for our attitude and the core of our basic character.

Jesus' appearance to his disciples, after His Resurrection and before His Ascension, was to empower the church with significant information. His important message to yesterday's believers is as relevant for His bride today.

As followers of Christ, it is understood that we who have chosen to appropriate the Lord's death, burial and resurrection have automatically accepted His forgiveness for our sins. We have nothing further to do with it. It is a gift of God.

Keeping this in mind, it is imperative that we never lose sight of that horrible pit that He pulled us from and the magnitude of His cleansing power. It is overwhelming for me to know that all He required for us to be completely and utterly forgiven was a sincere apology and an honest confession of our faith in Him.

With all that Christ has done for us, refusing to forgive others is unthinkable. Unwilling to forgive is contrary to the character of God. For God loved us so much, He forgave. Therefore, when He lives His life in and through us, forgiving becomes a part of our very nature. Unforgiveness and Christ cannot exist together in the same person.

To those of us who wrestle with extending forgiveness, this can be our first day to follow Him in mercy. Let us apply the forgiveness principle to all those who have hurt us. In many cases, the greater victory will be to forgive ourselves.