A Goal to Forgive

“Put up with each other. Forgive the things you are holding against one another. Forgive, just as the Lord forgave you” (COL 3:13 NIRV).

Can you believe it? The year is almost gone, and many of us will start making our New Year's goals once again. We'll make goals to lose weight, to eat healthy, to spend more time with the family, or to be more sociable, etc. Others will adopt any New Year’s resolutions guaranteed to enhance their lives, or to bring more blessings with little or no effort on their part. Still others will enter into the year with the same goals and attitudes they had last year. Whatever your goals are, or wherever your goals came from, if they are anything like the goals I have listed above—they are the easy goals. Ask someone to set a goal to forgive someone—this year—who has wronged them. Ask them to choose—this year—to love their neighbor as themselves (a neighbor who is obnoxious and annoying).

Not long ago in my own marriage, I had to make the decision to move past the hurt and pain of not having my expectations met, and to choose to love my husband in spite of his or my imperfections. Often I am force to reflect on one of my life quotes: “The best revenge is massive success.” I am not referring to monetary gain, or attaining greatness; I am referring to the ability to rise above the pain with God. To not allow bitterness, revenge, spite, or anger keep me from attaining true greatness; which is the ability to love others as God loves them and to see them as God sees them, worthy of being loved.

Your Call to Order...
Believe me when I say, “To forgive is a hard thing to do, and without God it is even harder.” Pray and ask God to give you His grace and mercy in helping you to forgive; then, set a goal to do one of the following: forgive someone who has wronged you, pray consistently for someone who has despitefully used you, bless someone who has cursed you by doing something nice for them. In return, may God “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” (Matthew 6:12).

Power Verses (from the New King James Version)

"Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do" (Colossians 3:12-13).

"Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you" (Ephesians 4:31-32).