Forgiveness

let's talk about forgiveness.

yep, i said it. forgiveness. *cringe* 

it's something we all struggle with. and if you don't? 
you're simply not human. 

today i was hit, hard. 

i was simply just looking at some blogs, 
and i came across this woman's blog. 

there was a video on one of her recent posts. 
i had some time so i clicked play. 

and WOAH, i had no clue what i was getting into. 
so click on this link, then click play too.

the nato's : a don't give up story

so after watching this video, i read more of her story. 

let me tell you, it's so amazing. 

i'm not a crier, but i was in tears. 

i thought to myself, "if that happened to me, what would i do?" 

and the answer is not pretty. i would most likely be bitter and hateful. 

sometimes i am unwilling to forgive even the littlest things. 

one thing that really stuck out at me was 
when she compared the betrayal of his unfaithfulness 
towards her to her betrayal to God. 

everyday we betray God, and he still forgives us. 

so why is it different when someone betrays us?

ephesians 4:32 (NKJV) says, "And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, 
forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you."

i am commanded to forgive others because God in Christ forgave me.

romans 5:8 (ESV) says...

but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, 
Christ died for us.

even though we rejected Him, 
He loved us so much that He sent His son to die for us.

so let me ask you, 
why can't we forgive the little things? or even the big things?

people tend to get bitter. i know i do. 

i'll "forgive" someone, then i still focus on it and get mad.

that's bitterness my friends.

it's funny because in ephesians 4:31, 
right before God tells us to forgive others, 

He tells us to put away bitterness. 

ironic that the two are so closely connected. 

many times our bitterness is caused by a lack of forgiveness.

after i saw that first video, 
i couldn't stop thinking and reading about forgiveness. 

but then i was just browsing online some more, 
and then i came across this next video. 

press play again :)

mhmmm.. can i get an AMEN up in here!

it's so amazing that God would put two videos in my path to teach me this message about forgiveness and further my understanding of it.

what he says in this video,

FORGIVEN PEOPLE FORGIVE PEOPLE

if you are forgiven, you WILL forgive.

i don't know if there is a better way to put it.

i love that he mentioned that quote by C.S. Lewis, 
it's by far one of my favorites.

so please. i know it's hard. but next time someone does something that causes you to say, "nope, sorry, that's beyond forgiving." 

please, please, please, think about how God has forgiven you.