Ephesians 1 (Amplified Version)
17[For I always pray to] the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, that He may grant you a spirit of wisdom and revelation [of insight into mysteries and secrets] in the [deep and intimate] knowledge of Him,
18By having the eyes of your heart flooded with light, so that you can know and understand the hope to which He has called you, and how rich is His glorious inheritance in the saints (His set-apart ones),
19And [so that you can know and understand] what is the immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of His power in and for us who believe, as demonstrated in the working of His mighty strength,
20Which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His [own] right hand in the heavenly [places],
21Far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and every name that is named [above every title that can be conferred], not only in this age and in this world, but also in the age and the world which are to come.
22And He has put all things under His feet and has appointed Him the universal and supreme Head of the church [a headship exercised throughout the church],(A)
23Which is His body, the fullness of Him Who fills all in all [for in that body lives the full measure of Him Who makes everything complete, and Who fills everything everywhere with Himself].
Deep within the recesses of our heart we seek to find love, to feel that we are deserving of respect. We strive to find that in our workplace, in our homes, and even in ourselves. We search for joy and peace knowing that we belong. Yet, there are moments in this world that we find criticism and failure. We struggle against those forces that could make us feel as though we are not good enough. Partially because we struggle with the fulfillment of these needs we smugly compare ourselves to those around and many times say “I am not so bad” In such a state of self, we become unforgiving and bitter at times. After all this person has hurt and injured us deep within our hearts. They have trashed the very heart of who we are. They have even brought us to question our own selves. If what they say is true then maybe I am not as good as I thought myself. Words are said in that moment of anger, an anger that comes out of an injured soul, words that are meant to hurt the one who has hurt us. We justify ourselves in these words as we see ourselves standing upon righteousness as our justification to respond and defend ourselves. We lash out from a fragile heart who has been injured and we fail to take a moment to look from the outside in and reflect upon our own actions that may have triggered this response. So quickly we want to justify ourselves and fail to see the bleeding heart that lashed out. Did they lash out in ignorance of what we had meant? Did they misunderstand what we had done or said? Were they themselves hurting from this same focal point? Sometimes we speak of having forgiven, yet, in the center of an bleeding heart we cannot find the means of true forgiveness until we ourselves are mended. We hold onto that sorrow or pain so tightly while at the same time the tear in the heart rips even deeper and robs us of true joy or peace. Evil continues to press in conjunction with our offended pride to harbor deep in the hidden recesses of our hearts so that without even noticing we sometimes feel a righteous vindication when we see the other struggle. We are quick then to judge whatever actions we might see in them to squash them like a bug under our feet—gleefully, saying “See I told you so” We fail to ever see their struggle or understand their injured heart who like we are only want acceptance and love. Thereby, we drive them deeper into their despair and feel we are justified in our actions.
What did Christ say about forgiveness? Matthew 18:
21Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?
22Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.
23Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants.
24And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents.
25But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.
26The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.
27Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.
28But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest.
29And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.
30And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.
31So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done.
32Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me:
33Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?
34And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.
35So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.
We are like this man, having had all our trespasses (more numerous than we could ever imagine) forgiven by God we then fail to forgive those around us. True forgiveness, not only forgives and forgets the wrong; but reaches out in a heart of love to help the one who has offended us. This is certainly not an easy task for we human beings and does require Divine help. Only as our eyes are truly opened to God’s forgiving and loving nature can we begin to understand this. We cannot truly understand the depth of God’s Glory and pardon until we see ourselves for the debase sinners that we are. As we cling to that self righteous attitude we can never understand what God has sacrificed and done for us. We can never forgive others until we look deep into our own hearts and see the imperfections that are lying there. We must confront our failures and lay them at the cross, so that in humility of heart we can reach out to our brothers. God when He raised Christ from the dead paid our price for sin and at that moment Christ was victorious over all the powers of the dark world. By faith in Jesus Christ and the understanding of all that He has done we are given the power to overcome all evil in ourselves. Then why don’t we? We are a forgetful breed of people and need to each morning be enlightened to this truth once more. We must daily seek Him that He might fill us with His power and might, laying aside all of these selfish, pride filled thoughts and desires. Then we are given the spirit of forgiveness that is needed to go forward. This is something I need to daily be reminded of, sometimes even hourly; because how quickly I forget.
FORGIVENESS
by Effie Darlene Barba
Oh, Lord, how does this bleeding heart
Forgiveness learn, to hurtful words
Or acts that rip my soul apart
By all they’ve said and done to me
Their acts have stolen joy of me
Abuse and selfishness have reigned
This pain I feel, please set me free
That I might stand and shine Thy light
So, take me back unto that cross
You bore my guilt and paid my price
That I might understand Your loss
The sacrifice forgiving me
If I could see me as I am
Compared to perfect righteousness
So underserving of this lamb
Who gave the final sacrifice
Oh, then Dear Lord I’d see mankind
Through eyes, your eyes filled with Your Love
Forgiving Spirit then I’d find
For every act, for every word
So, Let me have this heart of Yours
To reach a bitter world in pain
So joy, and love and peace outpours
To shine Your light of hope to all.
Forgiveness comes from a humble heart who has taken the time to look from the outside in. When we see our own frailties it is easier to forgive others theirs.
Love, Effie Darlene Barba