Our forgiving others is absolutely crucial to our physical and spiritual health. We cannot have a healthy relationship with God if we are holding a grudge against another person. It doesn’t matter if we are right and feel that we are justified to be mad at someone. Jesus stated the second most important commandment after loving God is to love others.
“Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37-40)
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” (John 13:34)
There may be a few people in our lives that we love as much as ourselves, but without God’s help, it is impossible to love others as ourselves. As humans, we are very self-centered. For instance, when we look at a picture that we are in, don’t we look at ourselves first? Don’t we judge whether the picture is good or bad by how we look in it?
I’m just making a point here. Loving and forgiving others is not always easy. Sometimes it is impossible without God’s help. It may not be easy, but it is vital to our relationship with Christ.
The scriptures tell us that our forgiveness depends on our forgiving others. Continue reading