Sunday, April 14, 2019
Yesterday during our Bible study, we wrapped up our months-long study of Romans 12. We were looking at “bless those who persecute you; bless and curse not”, both in conjunction with last 5 verses of that chapter, and the parallel claims of Christ in Matthew 5:10-12, 38-44, I Peter 3:9, and what we repeat about forgiving those who wrong us each night when we say the Lord’s Prayer, during our group prayer time.
I had my own stories about dealing with situations and people when I’ve forgiven and blessed those who have wronged me. But knowing the stories of some of these men, when I asked for examples, I shouldn’t have been surprised at what they said. For the ensuing examples were about gun battles and being shot, the killing of relatives or close friends, and co-defendants threatening one who testified against them with death, while the man was telling the story eloquently, spoke of forgiving him and letting it go, regardless of the consequences. They both now know, if they hadn’t come to prison, they would have never found Christ as Lord and Savior, and matured in Him, and that is worth every hardship they’ve had to endure. It gives new meaning to the idea of blessing our enemies, and the blessings that are to follow for us as we forgive our enemies.