WEDNESDAY JANUARY 15
“The
Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.” Col 3:13 NLT
YOU MUST FORGIVE
By washing the dirt from His disciples’ feet, Jesus
demonstrated His willingness to forgive their sin before they even committed
it. This takes love to his highest level. You say, “I am not the guilty here.”
Neither was Jesus. Of the men in that room, only One was worthy of having His
feet washed. And He was the One who washed the feet. The genius of Jesus’
example is that the burden of bridge-building falls on the strong one, not the
weak one. And do you know what happens? More often than not, if the one in the
right volunteers to wash the feet of the one in the wrong, both parties get on
their knees. Don’t we all think we are right? Hence we wash each other’s feet.
Understand this: relationships don’t thrive because the guilty are punished,
but because the innocent are merciful. The mercy of Christ preceded His
disciples’ mistakes, and our mercy, must precede the mistakes of others too.
Those in the circle of Christ had no doubt of His love, and those in our
circles should have no doubt about ours either., Paul writes, “Be kind and
loving to each other, and forgive each other just as God forgave you in Christ”
(Eph 4:32 NCV). Because Christ has forgiven us, we can forgive others. Because
He has a forgiven heart, we can have a forgiven heart. When Christ truly lives
within us, we have no better alternative. There is incredible power in the
words, “I forgive you; I love you; let’s move on.” Are there any sitting around
your table today who need to be assured of your forgiveness?
Taken
from The Word for You Today Devotional
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