Verse of the Day: 1 Samuel 26:23-24, “May the Lord repay every man for his righteousness and his faithfulness; for the Lord delivered you into my hand today, but I would not stretch out my hand against the Lord’s anointed. 24 And indeed, as your life was valued much this day in my eyes, so let my life be valued much in the eyes of the Lord, and let Him deliver me out of all tribulation.”
This would be the last time that Saul and David see each other. Saul’s words were words that sounded like someone who had repented of the sins he committed against David in persecuting him unfairly; however, David was not quick to believe that Saul was being sincere. Note David’s response to Saul. Although he put little weight on Saul’s sincerity, he made it clear to Saul that he was trusting God’s faithfulness and fairness in this unjust conflict that existed between the two of them. When all was said and done, Saul and David went their separate ways. Loving and praying for our enemies does not mean that we have to fellowship with them. Forgiving someone who has sinned against us does not always mean that we are going to become the best of friends. The Word of God is very clear in respect to forgiving one another. Ephesians 4:31-32 says, “Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. 32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.” In Luke 17:3-4, Jesus said, “Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. 4 And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.” David demonstrated this principle very well in his life and conflict with Saul. Here, he had the opportunity, for the second time, to take Saul’s life and end his days of fleeing. Instead, he chose to forgive, show love, and trust God to make things right. Far too often, we choose the number of times that we will forgive someone who offends us. Yet, we seek God’s forgiveness continually, because we are continually sinning against Him. With the same frequency that the Lord forgives us, we are commanded to forgive others. The only way this is possible, is for us to do as David did. He trusted that God saw his heart and his righteous behavior toward Saul. He trusted that in due time God would make things right. This would be the only way David could go his own way without being bitter. The truth of the matter is that we are dealing with people; people who are sinners, just like we are. Christians, and the unsaved, will sin against us. We are dealing with people in a fallen world. Therefore, we must not think it strange, or be sideswiped by moments when other offend us multiple times. We must not take it to heart, to the place where we cannot forgive, when the same person offends us. Instead, we need to remind ourselves that God already knows that the offense is coming, even before it reaches us. If He allows it, then there is a reason for it. He may be teaching us how to forgive as He forgives. By the way, before we use what I said earlier as an excuse not to fully reconcile with someone, to the place where we cannot fellowship with them again, or bring ourselves to truly treat them like we forgave them; stop and think of how the Lord is with us when He forgives us. We offend Him every day with our words, deeds, or unwillingness to do what we know we should do. Yet, when we acknowledge it, repent, and confess it, He forgives one hundred percent. He does not then keep His distance from us. He restores us to fellowship completely. Yes, I understand that some will not want to restore fellowship, but as much as lies within us, we are to restore fellowship with those who offend us. If along the way we note that they resist or are not genuine in their repentance, then we are still called to forgive and, like David, go on our way and trust God to deal with them. In many instances, the forgiveness we make available to others, even though they do not ask for it, is for our peace of mind, and to avoid us hindering our relationship with the Lord by not holding on to grudges or becoming bitter, and ultimately putting ourselves in a position where we are now sinning against God for being disobedient to His commands. David reminded Saul that he was doing what he was doing in sparing him, not because he did not have opportunity, but because He was doing it to reverently honor the Lord. In the end, what is most important about forgiving others and choosing not to take vengeance for ourselves, is that we do it out of obedience and reverent fear of our Lord; demonstrating our faith by trusting him to ultimately make things right.
Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His free gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His free gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).
No comments:
Post a Comment