I’m sure all of us have had the distinct displeasure of seeing man’s inhumanity to his fellow man face to face and unedited.  For many believers, it can be tough to reconcile God’s commandments regarding forgiveness when we have been witness to such evil.

Matthew 6:15 states succinctly, “But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” And even more difficult, Jesus commands us in Luke 6:27, “But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you…”

Well, know this; everyone – believer or non-believer – has heard “VENGEANCE IS MIIIINE!!! Sayeth the Lord.”  Well it wasn’t quite that dramatically stated but the sentiment rings true.  It is written in Deuteronomy 32:35, “To me belongeth vengeance, and recompence; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste.”  Please do not mistaken this “vengeance” for killing a dangerous enemy that has to be killed in order to prevent the deaths of the innocent.  Even King David wrote psalms regarding warfare.  Psalms 144:1 (A Psalm of David.), “Blessed be the LORD my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, [and] my fingers to fight:”

Now back to forgiveness; as mentioned before, God requires forgiveness.  It can seem almost impossible at times with all of the hatred we have seen overseas and here in our own country, but just remember this:

Jesus was falsely accused of heresy, betrayed by a friend, beaten 39 times with a cat of nine tails, had his beard torn out, had a crown of thorns pressed into his scalp, was forced to carry the patibulum of the method for his execution (weighed about 110 pounds) along the roughly 650 yards uphill and ultimately nailed to His cross and STILL managed to say “Father, forgive them.”  We have no excuse.

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