In Luke 6, Jesus gives us a command: ‘To you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you…If you love only those who love you, why should you get credit for that? Even sinners love lose who love them!...Love your enemies! Do good to them…and you will be truly acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked. You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate’ (v.27-36 NLT). Later, we see Jesus put this command into action in the most powerful way. As He was dying on the cross, exhausted, humiliated, and in excruciating pain, He prayed for everyone who had put Him there: ‘Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing’ (Luke 23:34 NLT). In the midst of His unimaginable suffering, He stayed faithful to God’s will, loving His enemies, doing good to those who hated Him, and praying for those who had hurt Him. We need to remember His model of forgiveness and work towards being as forgiving when someone wrongs us. (We also need to remember that if someone has harmed us or put us in danger, it’s important that we seek help.) Forgiveness is a process, and it probably won’t come naturally to us at first. How often have we held a grudge or got irritated when someone didn’t hold a door open for us, or used our favourite mug, or sat in ‘our’ place at church? Let’s start the process by meeting these minor irritations with forgiveness, and work our way towards a heart like Christ’s.

What Now?

Are there any grudges or irritations that you’re holding on to? Write a list of any that you can think of. Think of Jesus’ prayer in the cross, and use it to inspire you to begin forgiving each person involved and praying for them.