In Matthew 5:44-5, Jesus says to His disciples "But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven."
We often feel like the people that do us wrong don't deserve another chance. We don't feel like they're worthy of redemption, but redemption is the very thing that God gave us through His son Jesus! We were guilty sinners absolutely deserving of hell; a place separate from God. But He gave US another chance. He gave US another shot at gaining eternal life. If we repent, He promises to forgive us.
As Christians, we must be different, set apart from the world. The world holds onto bitterness, grudges and unforgiveness. Even though it can be difficult to act in the ways of our flesh, we must be the difference in the world. When people look at us and our life, we want them to notice that there's something different about us. That something good is within us. That God is within us.
Luke 6:35 says, "But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back."
So my thought for you is "can you lend forgiveness to your enemies without expecting to get an apology back?" "Can you have compassion on your enemies, the same way God had compassion on you!? "Can you forgive as the Lord forgave you?"
If you have a hard time forgiving people who have done you wrong, ask God to help and strengthen you! Forgiveness is not for the benefit of others but rather for the benefit of ourselves. Unforgiveness however, is not godly...AT ALL. God is not going to forgive you of your sins if you're refusing to forgive someone else's. Forgiving others lets us have peace within ourselves. Don't let the things of the past stop you from excelling Right Now! We MUST love people at all times and under all circumstances!!
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