Madre
11-02-2007, 08:47 PM
I thought there was a thread on forgiveness, but I couldn't find it. Anyway, there are some nuggets in this article:
Such a Worm as I
Lauri Krentz
http://www.hiswayministries.org/hwnews/hwworm.htm
I am very thankful for spiritual mentors like Elisabeth Elliot, who has had a tremendous influence on my life. One of the things I appreciate is that she never waters down the message of dying to one’s self, of giving up all rights in deference to Jesus Christ and His will. One of the hardest lessons I have learned is this dying to self. It is a daily process, because I am constantly confronted with the choice of whether or not to hold on to hurts, harbor bitterness, feel resentful, demand my own way, fret, worry, complain, the list could go on and on. Dying to self means giving up how I think things ought to be. Dying to self means being content in whatever circumstances I find myself, and being confident that "all things work together for good." (Romans 8:28 )
Elisabeth Elliot gives the Biblical example of dying to self in dealing with hurt feelings:
1. Give and receive grace.
"Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. (Colossians 3:12-14)
2. Acknowledge the wrong. Make sure your judgement is based on the Word.
3. Lay down all rights. Forgiveness is the unconditional laying down of the self. (1 Corinthians 6) This includes the desire for vindication, pleasure at the other person’s humiliation, keeping accounts of evil, the right to an apology, and bringing every thought under obedience to Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:5).
4. What to do for the one who has wronged you:
• If he asks for forgiveness, forgive.
• If he doesn’t, forgive in a private transaction with God.
• Pray for him.
• Confess (anger, hatred, desire for revenge, self-pity.)
• Bless the one who hurt you. Forgive him and bless him! Ask for grace to treat him as if nothing has ever come between you and stand with Christ for him. (Psalm 119:78 )
Wow, that’s a tall order! But to do anything less is to be disobedient to Christ, and will only lead to our own misery and stagnation. Our obedience will not only benefit us, it will also benefit those who have hurt us. We need to give grace to one another. None of us are perfect and if we have the close relationships with one another that God calls us to, we will have misunderstandings, we will have failures, we will mess up. But incredibly God can use all of these to help us grow, if we respond to them in a proper way. "As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend." (Proverbs 27:17)
If we are not careful, our feelings or emotions can stand in the way of our obedience. In forsaking myself, I must also die to my emotions and feelings. That is not to deny they exist, they are God-given, but we must resist the temptation to be ruled by them. Elisabeth Elliot says of emotions, "The discipline of emotions is the training of responses . . . When, in the face of powerful temptation to do wrong, there is the swift, hard renunciation – I will not – it will be followed by the sudden loosening of the bonds of self, the yes to God that lets in sunlight, sets us singing and all freedom’s bells clanging for joy."
Such a Worm as I
Lauri Krentz
http://www.hiswayministries.org/hwnews/hwworm.htm
I am very thankful for spiritual mentors like Elisabeth Elliot, who has had a tremendous influence on my life. One of the things I appreciate is that she never waters down the message of dying to one’s self, of giving up all rights in deference to Jesus Christ and His will. One of the hardest lessons I have learned is this dying to self. It is a daily process, because I am constantly confronted with the choice of whether or not to hold on to hurts, harbor bitterness, feel resentful, demand my own way, fret, worry, complain, the list could go on and on. Dying to self means giving up how I think things ought to be. Dying to self means being content in whatever circumstances I find myself, and being confident that "all things work together for good." (Romans 8:28 )
Elisabeth Elliot gives the Biblical example of dying to self in dealing with hurt feelings:
1. Give and receive grace.
"Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. (Colossians 3:12-14)
2. Acknowledge the wrong. Make sure your judgement is based on the Word.
3. Lay down all rights. Forgiveness is the unconditional laying down of the self. (1 Corinthians 6) This includes the desire for vindication, pleasure at the other person’s humiliation, keeping accounts of evil, the right to an apology, and bringing every thought under obedience to Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:5).
4. What to do for the one who has wronged you:
• If he asks for forgiveness, forgive.
• If he doesn’t, forgive in a private transaction with God.
• Pray for him.
• Confess (anger, hatred, desire for revenge, self-pity.)
• Bless the one who hurt you. Forgive him and bless him! Ask for grace to treat him as if nothing has ever come between you and stand with Christ for him. (Psalm 119:78 )
Wow, that’s a tall order! But to do anything less is to be disobedient to Christ, and will only lead to our own misery and stagnation. Our obedience will not only benefit us, it will also benefit those who have hurt us. We need to give grace to one another. None of us are perfect and if we have the close relationships with one another that God calls us to, we will have misunderstandings, we will have failures, we will mess up. But incredibly God can use all of these to help us grow, if we respond to them in a proper way. "As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend." (Proverbs 27:17)
If we are not careful, our feelings or emotions can stand in the way of our obedience. In forsaking myself, I must also die to my emotions and feelings. That is not to deny they exist, they are God-given, but we must resist the temptation to be ruled by them. Elisabeth Elliot says of emotions, "The discipline of emotions is the training of responses . . . When, in the face of powerful temptation to do wrong, there is the swift, hard renunciation – I will not – it will be followed by the sudden loosening of the bonds of self, the yes to God that lets in sunlight, sets us singing and all freedom’s bells clanging for joy."