Forgive and move on (1)

The greater the offense, the harder it is to forgive—but you must. Because whatever you refuse to forgive and let go of, you carry with you. And it will be like an albatross around your neck. Has someone abused you, cheated on you, lied about you, fired you, or otherwise mistreated you? Have you failed yourself? Are you asking, “How can I get beyond my past mistakes and become successful again?” Whatever your particular hurt, the solution isn’t feeding it or denying it. You have to forgive and let it go, or you will continue to hurt yourself. Someone said that choosing not to forgive somebody is like eating poison and expecting the other person to die. In order to move forward, you have to “let go” and be at peace with the past. Paul could easily have allowed the memory of the Christians he put to death before meeting Christ to destroy him and rob him of his destiny. But he refused to do it. Instead he wrote, “Dear brothers [and sisters], I am still not all that I should be but I am bringing all my energies to bear on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God is calling us up to heaven because of what Christ Jesus did for us” (vv.13-14 TLB). And here’s one more Scripture: “If you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins” (Mark 11:25 NIV). So the word for you today is this: forgive and move on.