As I lay here in bed, a friend entered my thoughts. Feelings of frustration, disappointment and hurt quickly rose up.Thoughts such as “I can’t believe he said that to me!” and “Who does he think he is!” started firing off- all of them blazing back at me. I realized I was holding a huge and unnecessary grudge.
See, this friend who I deeply care about had said something that took me by surprise, leading me to be offended. I was hurt. He didn’t mean any harm and wouldn’t intentionally hurt me, but during that moment, my heart had turned sour towards him. So naturally, I shut down and refused to talk to him. I poked and prodded at the wound that I had, wondering why he would want to attack me. Yes, after meditating on it all day, I came to the faulty conclusion that he “attacked.” After hours of silence and becoming more upset with the passing minutes, he asked if we could talk. I sarcastically responded.
Ouch! My perspective towards him in those moments were harsh. Did all of that really come from my heart?! This is my dear pal we’re talking about! The one I call friend (literally, instead of stating his name, I simply say “friend”); and I was punishing him for being what he naturally is: an imperfect human. My imperfection sure did show, if not more!
As I lay here and mediate, this isn’t the life God has called us to live out. God also calls us friend, but He doesn’t shut us out, put a wall up and push us away when we hurt Him in our disobedience. He doesn’t reconsider our relationship with Him, for Ephesians 4:30 says we are sealed until the day of redemption. He doesn’t give up on us for He said we can be confident that the good work He began in us will be carried out to completion until the day of Christ Jesus return (Phil 1:6). His love is everlasting and quenches our thirst to be filled. He also said in order for us to remain in His love, we must obey His command which is…Ahem…”Love one another as the Lord has loved you (John 15). It’s so easy to hold our wounds and to withhold unforgiveness, but it’s dreadful for our souls in the long run!
Ask God to help you forgive if you have been hurt by someone you care about. Remind yourself of the beautiful Gospel which should humble us all. I’m talking to myself too. It’s not easy to let hurts go but love is worth the risk of being hurt. You can’t do it in your own strength but only in Christ’s.
