How To Deal With Offenses
By Ed Henderson (2017)
A few years ago, the church we were going to was having race relations meetings. We were going to a wonderful multi-cultural church and enjoyed the diversity of that congregation.
During these meetings we heard many hard heart breaking stories of those that suffered at the hands of many prejudice people. God help us to get to a place that we no longer go down that road. The meetings gave people a safe place to share their stories and get healing.
We have learned that bitterness is a poison and it can defile many. It is infectious. So the best way to deal with it is to "consider Him". Now what do I mean by that? Our carnal (selfish) nature will always want to justify our right to be bitter with statements like,
"You do not understand what that person did to me!" We always want to "consider us." No I don't understand how someone else feels but Jesus does because He has been through a lot worse things than we have and He told us to forgive those people anyway. It really boils down to taking authority over our flesh. Listen, your flesh will never commit suicide, you have to kill it.
The best scripture that I have found to help accomplish killing the flesh in these situation is the following;
Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin that so easily besets us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us. Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was
set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. Ye have not resisted unto blood, striving against sin. Hebrews 12:14
Regardless of what you and I have gone through, or will ever go through, it will never compare to what Jesus went through on the Cross. If anybody ever had a justifiable reason to be bitter and not forgive people it was Jesus. But, He said forgive them Father for they know not what they do. There is just no way out for us when it comes to forgiveness. There are no exceptions or levels
of offense that exempt forgiving. We have to do it! We have to obey if we want to be free. It’s as simple as that.
