Church of the Nazarene

 Larry Davies

Imagine driving to work on a busy highway, minding your own business.
Suddenly, to your right, someone runs a stop sign and with squealing
tires, zips in front of your car, forcing you to slam on the brakes
and pull off to the side of the road. As you try to calm your nerves,
the jerk in the other car never seems to acknowledge his mistake and
speeds on down the highway.

How would you react? Would you scream, cry, shake your fist, curse
him and all of his ancestry? Would you spend the rest of the morning,
describing what happened to your coworkers? Would your day be ruined,
all because of the senseless, irrational, act of a stupid jerk who
thinks the open road is paved for him? And another thing, “I am sick
and tired of being the patsy!!!” (Oops! Calm down, Larry.)

(Okay; I’m calm now.) Yet, the other driver… the jerk who caused
all of your suffering is merrily going on with his life having no
knowledge of what he did to you. Think about it. The other driver was
responsible for the near-accident but your reaction was not his
fault. It was yours. The real damage was entirely self-inflicted. In
a word, it is called: resentment.

One definition of resentment is to re-feel the pain. Resentment is
like accidentally cutting your hand with a knife and then deciding to
avenge yourself by stabbing the other hand. Ouch, that hurts!

The disciples were asking Jesus how to strengthen their faith. Jesus
said: “If your brother (or sister) sins, rebuke him and if he
repents, forgive him. If he sins against you seven times in a day and
seven times comes back to you and says, `I repent,’ forgive him.”
(Luke 17:3,4)

Does this mean we have to forgive the jerk that tried to run over us?
No way! Anyway, what does this have to do with faith? This is exactly
what the people listening to Jesus asked and He answered them:

“If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this
mulberry tree, `Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey
you.” (Luke 17:6) What? What does that mean?

The mulberry tree has extensive roots that run deep into the soil.
It’s nearly impossible to uproot. Resentment has extensive roots that
run deep within our soul and is nearly impossible to overcome.
Forgiveness is a process that begins as a tiny mustard seed. As the
mustard seed of forgiveness grows the roots of resentment, like the
mulberry tree are loosened and our faith is strengthened.

Do you want to strengthen your faith? Then, learn to forgive;
A spouse or former spouse who hurt you deeply.
Maybe a boss or fellow worker who stepped all over you.
A trusted friend who violated your confidence.
A parent or relative who abused you.
And usually; you need to forgive yourself.

Does this kind of forgiveness sound impossible? Sure it is… without
God. Yet, one psychiatrist wrote that 75% of his patients could walk
out of the hospital if they could truly understand what it means to
forgive and be forgiven. Such is the power of grace. Let me give you
an example:

In 1660, John Bunyan was thrown into prison just for being a
Christian. He could have let the experience ruin him but instead
chose to forgive everyone involved and used the isolation as an
opportunity to write Pilgrim’s Progress, one of the most influential
Christian books ever written. The power of learning to forgive can
produce that kind of sturdy faith within you.

Does an attitude of forgiveness ever come easy? Never! It’s a process
that we must work at continually but God makes a clear promise that
your willingness to forgive will give you a faith that will move
mountains and change your life. Great! “Now if I can only forgive
that jerk on the highway that almost killed me!”