Forgiveness - Teaching 10

Jesus Teaches His Disciples

Love Your Enemies

“But I tell everyone who is listening: Love your enemies. Be kind to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who insult you. If someone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other cheek as well. If someone takes your coat, don’t stop him from taking your shirt. Give to everyone who asks you for something. If someone takes what is yours, don’t insist on getting it back.

“Do for other people everything you want them to do for you." Luke 6:27-31


Easier Said Than Done

Continuing on our lessons regarding the hidden gems of Scriptures, we continue with Jesus teaching His disciples.

Before I came to understand what the good news of Jesus means, my curiosity just got the best of me and so I decided I need to read the gospels for myself to find out what this is all about and why some are really so crazy into this Jesus stuff.

This led me to read the gospels. When, I got to the verse above, especially at this part ... "if someone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other cheek as well", I stopped reading, closed the book, and while laying on my bed I told myself, "what a load of crap".

But the next day, I continued reading until I eventually finished the entire gospels as written by the disciples, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

I mean, when I first read the gospels, it was just out of curiosity and to try to find out what was all this hype is all about.

But without anyone explaining it to me, for me the stuff I read were all just words, with no real worth.

Many years later when someone had a chance to tell me what the gospel means and after I finally made a personal decision to believe it, all of a sudden I found a real hunger to learn more and to read Scriptures. But this time around, I was able to understand many things that the first time around flew merely right over my head.

The Lesson

God is love. And Jesus was the ultimate expression of this love. Anyone believing and following Jesus must reflect at least some of the same love, and the test, day by day becoming more and more like Jesus.

Golden Rule

The golden rule is the ultimate test of really becoming a follower of Christ -- doing to others, what you would want them to do to you. This is not easy and hard to fake, the Spirit of Jesus Himself must reside within one to reflect this kind of love -- the kind that forgave those who crucified Him.

How Many Times

"Peter came to Him (Jesus) and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?”

Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven." Matthew 18:21-22

Peter, a follower of Christ like many ordinary others, came up to Jesus and wanted to ask if seven times is already good enough to satisfy God as far as forgiving someone who has offended him -- five or six more than anyone could bear and a large enough number to show off to anyone who could hear that he could do that much.

But Jesus replied back, not 7 but 70 times 7, that's 490 times, in other words, forgive without boundaries, and He showed that by His own example.

Jesus was not all talk, He walk the talk. Real followers, do the same, although in the beginning, much like Peter, they might just shoot their mouths off and promise many things like, "Jesus, I am ready to die for you". But a few hours later, like Peter they would be lying to his teeth and cursing just so they can elude people who were asking them if they even knew Jesus.

But in time... in time, Peter, just like any other true believer, would eventually become more and more like Jesus, day by day, not through his own strength, but through the power of the Holy Spirit living inside Him, and yes, even to the point of dying for his faith.

All true believers can do the same, of course not in the beginning of their walk with Christ, but for sure they are most able after years of closely walking with God and the Scriptures.