Father
Forgive Them
As our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ hang dying on
the cross, one of His last statements was, “Father forgive them, for they do
not know what they do.”
This declaration comes on the heels of Him being
falsely accused, mocked and made fun of, publically humiliated, spit on, a
crown of thorns crushed into His skull, physically beaten, flogged with whips
containing jagged bone fragments which ripped his skin with every blow until He
was beyond human recognition, 3 3-4 inch nails driven through his flesh and
bones and hung on a cross, left to die slowly with his organs failing and
rupturing one by one.
These people were evil! they plotted and planned and
forced His brutal execution. So how could Jesus say that they didn’t know what
they were doing? They knew EXACTLY what they were doing and loved every minute
of it! How could He turn and forgive them?! It was UNFORGIVABLE what they did!
That’s Jesus for you!!
I love Jesus! He not only talked the talk, but
walked the walk! Earlier, He had commanded the people to love their enemies and
forgive those who despitefully use them. To forgive even if it meant 70 x 70
times a day!
Jesus knew what we fail to see and understand. Sin,
such as hate, bitterness and unforgiveness is from Satan, not God. It is
foreign to the humanity that God created; a disease, an alien invasion. Acting
like the devil is basically being demon possessed or at the least under the
influence of the evil one.
Like the drunk, drug addict or psychotic person, the
actions they carry out are done in a “right” state of mind. From Jesus’
perspective, that “right” state is God’s state of mind. So in effect, He could
forgive ANYONE by reason of “INSANITY”.
This holds true for us also. When people do you
wrong; hurt you, use you, treat you evil, forgive them; “By reason of insanity!”
These evil people are doing things which are foreign
to God’s will for them. They are under the influence of another; Satan. They
are not acting rational or “sane” as God created them and therefore are “Insane”.
When you view people from this “God perspective”,
you’d be surprised at how much easier it is to forgive people and let go of
past hurts. Someone hurts me and I say to myself, “I forgive them, because if
they were under God’s influence, they would not have done that.”
This is not “letting people off the hook”. It is
thinking scripturally and obeying God. It is also good for your own soul. We
have enough to deal with in our everyday lives, carrying around the baggage of
hurt just weighs us down even more. Set yourself FREE! By forgiveness and right
perspective, leave the evil and hurt to God to deal with and only allow your
mind to focus of good things.
It’s a new year; a better year. Start it off right
and finish it right by acting right. You could “choose” to discount everything I
have said and ignore everything that Jesus commanded, but then; would that make
you “Sane” or “Insane”?
They know “not” what they do; you “do”! Think About
It!
God Bless
http://waitonboaz.com
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