Daily Devotion: Forgiveness vs. Fuming

Bible Reading:  Mark 11:15-26

Key Verse:  Verse 25 - And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.

Key Words:  forgive, if ye have ought against any

Christ-likeness is about forgiving while the religious crowd just seem to fume.  Don't believe it?  Read Matthew 12:34.  But as Christians we are told in Ephesians 4:32, “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another; even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.”

There are two aspects to forgiveness.  First of all, if we have ought against any, we should forgive them (Mark 11:25).  Secondly, if we know that someone has ought against us, we should go and ask forgiveness (Matthew 5:23-24). 

The thing I find interesting in regard to forgiveness is God reveals to us that we have offended others during our time of prayer (Mark 11:24-25).  God reveals that others have ought against us when we come to the altar.  Maybe that’s the reason there is so little forgiveness because we spend so little time praying and so few come to the altar.

Thomas A. Edison was working on a crazy contraption called a "light bulb" and it took a whole team of men 24 straight hours to put just one together. The story goes that when Edison was finished with one light bulb, he gave it to a young boy helper, who nervously carried it up the stairs. Step by step he cautiously watched his hands, obviously frightened of dropping such a priceless piece of work. You’ve probably guessed what happened by now; the poor young fellow dropped the bulb at the top of the stairs. It took the entire team of men 24 more hours to make another bulb. Finally, tired and ready for a break, Edison was ready to have his bulb carried up the stairs. He gave it to the same young boy who dropped the first one. That’s true forgiveness.

If we are to be Christian in our dealings with others, it requires that we be forgiving.  Are you?

What to do:
✞ The religious crowd fumes; the Christian forgives.  Which are you?

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