by Steve Colloday
Well, you might say, “I’ve really tried to forgive someone, but what they did was just too much, they don’t deserve my forgiveness. Of course they’re my enemy.”
Yes, forgiveness at times seems impossible. Especially when we’re deeply wounded. And convinced that another is responsible for unforgiveable words or actions. But, friends, we forget this about forgiveness: we’re the jailer with the key…we have placed this other “guilty” person in bondage…but we have forgotten that we therefore have also placed ourselves in jail also…bound in anger with him or her.
These times continue to bring forth opportunities for us, for all humanity, to dive deeply into the possibility that we have the power within us to heal and release what holds us in bondage, in jail, with those we have placed there. Many topics to choose from—racial inequality, Covid 19, climate change, deep lack of self-esteem, etc.
The good news in all of this is that we have been given the tools to make a profound difference in our own lives and that of others: forgiveness. Jesus taught us how to deal with the enemy—another, ourselves, or any life condition:
“Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you.” –Matthew 5:44
So how do you deal with a perceived enemy, whether it’s yourself, others, or a condition in life? Here are four key steps in this passage in Matthew, shared in The I of the Storm, that just might help you set yourself free:
Love, Bless, Do Good, Pray
- Look Into the Mirror: Love
- Make it mean that it’s for good: Bless
- Do the Right Thing: Do Good
- Set Yourself and Your Enemy Free: Pray