Counsel #3 — Forgive Others

Picture: Counsel #3 — Forgive OthersCSL 61.1

Plotting revenge and obsessing about past hurts destroys peace. Remember how Christ has forgiven you (Colossians 3:13). Ask God to give you the gift of forgiveness and extend it to those who have hurt you or those you love (see Ephesians 4:32).^{[60]https://www.adventist.org/experience-of-salvation/the-heartbeat-of-forgiveness/}CSL 61.2

“Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.” Romans 12:17, 18 NKJVCSL 61.3

“Nothing can justify an unforgiving spirit. He who is unmerciful toward others shows that he himself is not a partaker of God’s pardoning grace…. The ground of all forgiveness is found in the unmerited love of God, but by our attitude toward others we show whether we have made that love our own. Wherefore Christ says, ‘With what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged.’ Let Christ, the divine Life dwell in you and through you reveal the heaven-born love that will inspire hope in the hopeless and bring heaven’s peace to the sin-stricken heart. As we come to God, this is the condition which meets us at the threshold, that, receiving mercy from Him, we yield ourselves to reveal His grace to others.” Ellen White in The Faith I Live By, p. 131CSL 61.4

Reflect: Is your unwillingness to forgive defrauding you of peace? CSL 61.5