2 Corinthians 2:10–11 (ESV) — 10 Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. Indeed,
what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in
the presence of Christ, 11 so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we
are not ignorant of his designs.
NOTE: What is one of
Satan's designs that is referred to in this passage? Design means a mental
perception or an evil purpose. I think the particular design is to get
believers in the church to not forgive. To keep them so angry that they do not
even want to consider forgiveness as an option. The idea is that the sin is so
great, it can never be forgiven. But that thought is antithetical to the very
death of Jesus who forgave us of every sin we have ever or will ever commit. He
paid the full price. There is no sin too great that Jesus' death could not pay.
So when we refuse to forgive another, we devalue what Jesus did for us. We are
told to forgive as he forgave us. No sin is too great or too hurtful. We need
to forgive and we need to ask God to remove our anger and we need to ask God to
help us love the person who hurt us so badly.
PRAYER: Father, this
is very hard. I can't think of anyone I hate or have not forgiven, but there
are certainly people I do not like and I do not enjoy being around. Forgive me
Lord for such a terrible attitude toward others. I can think of one person in
particular who I can never say anything nice. Give me a love for that person
and a tender heart. Help me to show love to the person. Help me to not talk
about that person behind their back.
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