When we come to God, he expects a 180 degree shift in our actions. If we were going one way, he expects us to head the other. If we treated people one way, he expects us to treat them another.
That is God’s way. Colossians 3:9-10 tells us if we are risen with Christ, we have put off the old man with his evil deeds and put on a new man in the image of the one that created us.
What is our old man? Our human nature, of course. It drives humanity. It offends those around us. We read of it in Proverbs 6:16-19, where we see that humanity is filled with lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, and pride. Our modern day court system proves it.
The consequences our courts impart to the convicted are penalties. However, is penalizing the wrongdoer Christ-like? Does it reflect our Christian values?
Should the forgiveness taught by Christ play into the picture?
Jesus addressed this on two occasions. In Matthew 5:44-46, he tells us to love our enemies and pray for those who do us wrong. In Matthew 18:21-35, he lays it out even more plainly. We are to forgive an offense not just seven times, but seventy times seven times.
Essentially, there is no practical limit on the amount of times God expects us to forgive. Has he done any less for us?
Even so, forgiveness cannot be our final step. We must put off the old man with his inclination to penalize those who have wronged us. We must turn around 180 degrees and put on the new man who can reward those who do evil unto us.
In Genesis 45-46, Joseph put this Christ-like attribute into practice. When his brothers returned to Canaan to retrieve his father, he sent them silver and fine garments, and beasts of burden loaded with all the good things of Egypt.
When they returned, Joseph doubly blessed them. He offered them Goshen, the best of the land in Egypt. It was his way of showing them that they were fully and completely forgiven.
Joseph set an example of what we should strive to emulate. Centuries later, in Luke 6:28, Jesus reaffirmed this principle in the Sermon on the Mount when he said, “Bless them that curse you, and pray for them that despitefully use you.”
The sixth confirmation of true forgiveness is to fulfill Jesus’ words to bless those who have wronged us, and to do it with a joyous heart.
When we have fulfilled the words of Jesus to bless them who persecute us, his light will shine through us in everything we do and say.
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