Leadership Through Love预览

You'd be hard-pressed to find many places in the Bible where the word "impossible" is used. Jesus tells his disciples in Luke that one area of life that is unavoidable is being offended. You can be confident that people in your life, at some point, are going to do something to hurt you. Which means we will regularly be susceptible to holding that offense against the offender. This is a trap from the Devil, because we know that God calls us to be in unity with one another.  

Recently, reconciliation has become a high priority in the world because of the lack of unity we are experiencing across cultural groups. It's important to know that God didn't just make up the idea of reconciliation, He accomplished it. The sacrifice that Jesus Christ paid on the cross restored our relationship with Him and with each other. Part of reconciliation requires that the offended not let past transgressions keep the offender held hostage to them.

God showed us how extravagantly He loved us when He said in Isaiah 43:25, "I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more." 

As I say in the video, it's a struggle not keeping a scoreboard in relationships. But this verse should humble us on a daily basis when we think about the number of ways we sin against God. Deciding not to keep a "running tally" of others' mistakes will probably never be easy, but remembering the undeserved mercy that God shows us should give us the strength to do it anyway.

Spend some quiet time with God today, and ask Him to reveal any record books that you have stored away that need to be ripped up.