This is  part 3 (part 1 part 2) of this series, Bound in the Land of Blessing, This series was came about after I read this passage from Nehemiah, “Behold, we are slaves this day; in the land that you gave to our fathers to enjoy its fruit and its good gifts, behold, we are slaves.” (Neh. 9:36 ESV) As I read this passage in Nehemiah I began asking myself, is it possible for believers to be bound in the land of blessings we have received through being in Christ.

As my Father’s Day was winding down, my wife and I laid back and watched a classic, The Count of Monte Cristo. The movie follows the life of Edmond Dantes who is wrongly accused of a crime by a few people in his life, one of them being a person he thought was his best friend.

As a result Edmond is whisked away to serve a life sentence, in one of the worst prisons. Edmond loses all hope, faith and trust in people and God. Just when he is about to end his life, a fellow prisoner who is attempting an escape enters his life.

The Priest, is what he is called, becomes Edmond Dantes’ teacher, in exchange, Edmond is to help dig a way out of the prison. Edmond does finally escape, but it is not through digging, if you do not remember, I will let you watch the movie.

But for the 14 years Edmond Dantes was in prison the only thing that kept him going, his purpose and goal in life was revenge. Upon returning to the real world, Edmond discovers his fiance is married to his so called best friend, his father committed suicide because of the grief and treacherous crime his son committed.

Revenge, revenge is what fueled Edmond Dantes. Revenge on the people who hurt him, the people who ruined his life and took away all that he loved.

As we discover through the rest of the film, revenge almost costs him more loss and  grief because he discovers he has a son. When Edmond Dantes discovers there is something more valuable than revenge, it is only then is he willing to let go of the pain, hurt and bitterness and grant mercy.

The Problem of Unforgiveness

What Edmond Dantes experienced is unforgiveness. He could not get on with his life without first ensuring that those who have hurt him receive their just punishment.

Who decides their just punishment?

In the case of The Count of Monte Cristo, Edmond Dantes does, in our case, when we have unforgiveness in our hearts, we want the power to decide the just consequence for the people who have hurt us.

Do you see the problem?

Our desire is to become the judge, jury and executioner of those who cause us pain. When we become judge, jury and executioner we usurp the role of God, we take God’s place and put ourselves on His throne. Paul tells us in Romans,

Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” (Rom. 12:19 ESV)

Another problem with unforgiveness for the believer, is many of us think the hurt people have caused us is greater than the hurt we have done to others or the sins we have committed against God. We can not walk through this life without bringing pain to those we love or sinning against the Lord. We are fallen, sinful people, our actions can and do bring pain on others, sometimes unintentional. But the Lord requires forgiveness.

Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. (Colossians 3:12–13 ESV)

I love the words Paul uses here, “bearing with one another.” Paul knows we are going to hurt, frustrate, cause pain to one another, which is why he says bear with one another. Then he asks us to take the next step, forgive one another. Paul doesn’t just say put up with each other, he says forgive each other.

The next line is what is astounding, we are required to forgive as the Lord has forgiven us. WOW! How has the Lord forgiven us? He throws our sins into the sea of forgetfulness. He does not hold them against us anymore, he doesn’t bring them up to judge us. They are gone forever. This is how we are to forgive those who have hurt us. Lord help us to be like you.

Bound By Unforgiveness

The Lord asks this of us for many reasons, can I briefly give you two. The first is for unity. Can you imagine a community of sinful people coming together to accomplish the purposes of God on this earth, each with their own personality, sinful tendencies, desires and thoughts of how things should go? Will those people hurt each other, get on each others nerves, bring offense to each other? Of course they will and God says forgive as I have forgiven you to keep the unity of the people of God and to show a bright shining witness to the world of a people who are accepting and loving. We are a people who do not  bury their issues but deal with them in way that is uncommon to the world. This is an attractive quality in a harsh, social media driven, judgmental world.

The second reason is what I want to focus on, in the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant, Jesus tells the story of a servant who owes the king an exorbitant amount of many, a debt which could never be paid. The king says sell him and his family and all that he has to pay his debt is paid, which in reality is a life sentence of servitude for his whole family. But the servant begs and pleads for mercy and the king has mercy and forgives the debt.

This same servant went out and and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a small amount of money compared to what he owed the king. The servant grabbed him by the throat yelling “pay me what you owe” and the fellow servant asked for mercy and patience. But no mercy was given, he had him thrown in jail until he could pay him back.

Their were some other servants nearby who had seen all that happened and went and told the master everything . The master summons the servant who was forgiven much and calls him wicked and wants to know why if he was forgiven so much and was granted mercy, why he couldn’t forgive and show mercy to the one who owes him so little in comparison. The Master then throws the wicked servant into jail until all is repaid.

What is chilling is the next verse,

So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.” (Matt. 18:35 ESV)

Does the heavenly Father throw us into prison when we refuse to forgive?

I believe it is the natural consequences of unforgiveness, like Edmond Dantes, his life was consumed by the revenge and hurt that others inflicted on him. When we refuse to forgive a root of bitterness begins to form and grow slowly in our lives. This root spreads into our personal thoughts, how we view others and how we view the world. Our hurts become the lens we look through as we live our life and make our decisions.

When we make the choice to withhold forgiveness, we bind ourselves, throw ourselves in prison while living in the land blessing. We stop up the well of everlasting water that flows from heaven into our lives. We become bound in prison in the land of blessing, all the while having the key to freedom in our heart, forgiveness.

I do not want to treat the problem of unforgiveness in a cavalier way, sometimes we need the help of qualified counselors to walk us through forgiveness.  I acknowledge there are some people in life who have experienced an insurmountable amount of trauma to even think about forgiving the people who hurt them can cause them more trauma, depression, panic attacks and more. My heart goes out to you and I pray for you and hope you find a qualified trauma counselor who can help you walk through the pain others have brought in your life.

Something More Valuable

When Edmond Dantes discovered there was something more valuable than his hurt and desire for revenge, it is only then he was willing to grant mercy.

Is your relationship to God more valuable than your unforgiveness?

I am not referring to your salvation, but your relationship with God. Those times when the Lord has spoken to you in the Word, through music or a fellow believer. The times when all is right in the world no matter what circumstance you are going through because you are living a life guided by the Spirit of God. Are you willing to give this up? Or is this more valuable than your unforgiveness?

Are you willing to let the hurt others have caused to bring further damage into your life because of unforgiveness? Or is freedom in the land of promise more valuable?

When Jesus was on this earth he lived out the human experience. He experienced hurt, rejection, being lied about, being falsely accused, abandonment, loneliness, being misunderstood, he was hated, disliked, he was used, and experienced a humiliating death and so much more. Yet on the cross he proclaims, Father forgive them for they know not what they do. May God through the power of the Spirit give us forgiving hearts.

Until Next Time

Soli Deo Gloria

 

 

 

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Help! My Teen Doesn’t Want to Attend Church

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We longed for our kids to have godly grandparents, but the Lord had other plans. Over time, we learned three important lessons.

When Old They’ll Still Bear Fruit

Last month, my extended family and I sat with my dying grandmother over her final days. In the waning hours of her life, we reflected on the various blessings the Lord gives by allowing saints to live long lives. Growing old is really hard, but there are unique benefits that come to the friends and family of those who age well in Jesus Christ. Here are a few of the blessings we counted together:

Friday Spotlight is a sermon, podcast, book, video or quote I read or listened to this week which stuck out to me.

This week I would like to put a spotlight on a discussion between Marty Duren and Alan Cross on immigration.

The SPEAK acronym which Alan Cross shares is very helpful.

https://uncommontarypodcast.com/2019/06/11/alan-cross-thinking-biblically-about-immigration-s2e9/

Hope you enjoy

Until Next Time

Solo Deo Gloria

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