—Philippians 3:13
Forgiveness is the core ingredient to every successful relationship. So many people carry exceptions to their offer of love. "I love you, but you really hurt my feelings yesterday." Or "I love you, but I'm too tired, too busy, too distracted, too annoyed, too angry, too unhappy to be nice to you right now."
True love simply says, "I love you!" No exceptions! The apostle Paul pointed out in Philippians 3:11-14 that to attain the spiritual and moral resurrection that lifts us out from among the dead, even while we are here in body, we must continue to forget the past and press on for the goal to win the prize to which Jesus is calling us. We are to forget what lies behind and press on to what lies ahead.
Women seem more prone to carrying grudges and remembering offenses for days, and some even remain bitter for years. Jesus called us to a higher prize that requires us to both receive forgiveness and give it to others. The Lord's prayer calls us to pray for forgiveness as we forgive others: "And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors." (Matthew 6:12 KJV)
There's nothing in my flesh that wants to forgive Dave when I think he is wrong. But God wants me to respond with love and say no to my flesh and yes to Him, even though I don't feel like it. Years ago, as I began doing what God said to do, I honestly came to the point where I wanted what God wanted. I don't even know how or when that happened. A supernatural change takes place in us as we obey God out of respect for His Word.
