At no time am I more likely to love other people, than when I have been preaching the gospel to myself. I never get tired of hearing it! There is never a time when I don't need to be reminded that while I was a sinner - a dweller in the darkness -, and an enemy of God, He loved me and forgave me of all my sin through Jesus Christ, His Son. There was nothing worthy or beautiful about me, and I certainly didn't deserve His forgiveness. It was His gift to me. I could never have done enough to earn it.
How then can I not pass on this same forgiveness to others? What about someone who has slandered me? What about someone who has ridiculed me and gone out of their way to hurt me? And what about the one who has stolen from me, then told lies to cover it up?
Well what about it? There's really no debate here. There is one answer and one alone for the believer. FORGIVE.
We pass on what has been given to us. It's simple. But what if my feelings are that I don't like this person or trust this one who has been so hurtful to me? Let your mind - not your feelings - tell you what to do. Listen to your conscience and DO the right and loving thing. Fake it until you make it. You don't have to trust the one who has betrayed you.... Look at the example we have in King David. Saul treated him unjustly and even tried to murder David. But David refused to reciprocate that kind of hatred. He treated Saul with the respect that a king deserved. David was a man after God's own heart regardless of what anybody else did.
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