#JESUS2018 - Daily DevotionalsSample

PROCLAIMING FORGIVENESS

Betrayed by friends, convicted despite being blameless, tortured and lastly nailed to a cross – the injustices Jesus had to suffer could hardly have been worse. And still the people around him add to it by mocking and humiliating Jesus. Naked, bleeding and dying, he hangs on the cross. There is nobody there to offer compassion. Instead, with awful words they are trying to break him. All eyes are on him.

When Jesus opens his mouth to respond to these words, nobody is probably expecting these words: “Father, forgive them!”. What Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount about loving your enemies is now being implemented in the most amazing way.

I often find it difficult not to shoot back or defend myself when I am treated unjustly. Of course, I know that it ultimately is for my own good when I forgive others. When I bear a grudge towards others, it primarily burdens my heart, my thoughts and my feelings. Jesus showed us how to free ourselves of such burdens. And I want to be led by his example so much more than by the negative things in my life.

ACTION STEP:

Let’s turn to you. Who is responsible for the greatest burdens in your life? Who do you most bear a grudge against? To be freed from this burden, start praying for this person for three minutes.

… the resentment may not completely have disappeared yet, but keep at it and learn from Jesus how to pray for your tormentors. This is where the first step towards freedom lies.

André Schönfeld, ICF Berlin Grünheide