Forgiveness, Can You Imagine?

By far, my favorite part of the Broadway show Hamilton is when Eliza forgives her husband, Alexander, for being unfaithful to her...

Forgiveness, Can You Imagine?

"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 3:13)

By far, my favorite part of the Broadway show Hamilton is when Eliza forgives her husband, Alexander, for being unfaithful to her. I have seen it on Broadway and once at the theater with Ashley. It is riveting. When she takes him by the hand, there is a pause, and then the cast together sing the word "forgiveness." The song concludes this way:

There are moments that the words don't reach
There is a grace too powerful to name
We push away what we can never understand
We push away the unimaginable

They are standing in the garden
Alexander by Eliza's side
She takes his hand, it's quiet uptown

Forgiveness, can you imagine?
Forgiveness, can you imagine?

If you see him in the street
Walking by her side, talking by her side, have pity
They are going through the unimaginable

I will close our devotions this week on the topic of forgiveness with these two encouragements and recommendations:

1. Embrace God's Forgiveness.

Accept Jesus' death on the cross for your sins. Repent and believe. Ephesians 1:7 states, "In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace." Romans 10:9 says, "That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." God will fill you with His very life and power by His Holy Spirit. You will then be empowered to do all that God expects you to do, including the heavy task of forgiving someone who has wronged you. I will say it again: you cannot do this in your own power. You need God's salvation and forgiveness if you are to forgive someone who has harmed you deeply.

2. Extend Forgiveness.

In our focal text for today from Colossians 3:13, these last words jumped out at me: "So you also must do." God commands us to forgive. Initially, you may think that is impossible. Remember Jesus' powerful words in Matthew 19:26, "But Jesus looked at them and said to them, 'With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.'"

I hope you have been blessed by these devotions on forgiveness this week. Thank you to everyone who prays for our DFEA ministry. Through your faithful prayers and generous financial support, we are able to do all that we do. So, again, thank you!