Romans 12:17-21 “Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord. On the contrary: ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
How tempting is it to reply to someone out of spite? Or to justify one’s actions with the childish phrase, “Well they did it to me first!” Throughout the Bible we are taught this is not the way to respond. We are to forgive one another as Christ forgives us, even more specifically we are to forgive each other so Christ will forgive us (Matt 18:35).
As Christians we know Jesus died for the sins of the world, through His death we have been given a way to be reconciled with God. If we truly believe Jesus died for our sins; we must acknowledge that the “debt” of another’s sin is not ours to collect. A person’s sin is between them and God, we are told we must forgive. Forgiving is not easy and often we have to work through the process, but we must remain diligent in our efforts.
We are called to love, not to hate. We are to be reflections of Christ’s love to the world. Take a few moments to think and pray, is there someone you need to forgive? It does not matter if you feel they owe you an apology – that is between them and God. Your need to forgive them is about your relationship with God. When we are reluctant to forgive each other, our relationship with God is hindered.