Wrestling with Self Forgiveness (Part 9)
Getting involved with other people helps us to forgive ourselves. God made the church for many good reasons. One of them was so that we could encourage one another. Of course, if we choose not to be involved with the church, we will receive little encouragement, and negative feelings of self unforgiveness will creep back into our lives. Instead, we must practice Hebrews 3:13: “but exhort one another daily, while it is called ‘Today,’ lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.” We need daily encouragement. Being actively involved with the local body of Christ will give us that.
God also foresaw that Christians would need a regular time to meet with other Christians. So, he had Jesus establish the Lord’s Supper to be observed every first day of the week. Acts 20:7 tells us that the church met on this day for this very purpose. In Hebrews 10:24-25, the Holy Spirit said, “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.” Christians need to be involved in the lives of other Christians. This is a great way to overcome self unforgiveness.
Finally, James 1:27 says, “Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.” You will never have a “bad day” visiting an orphan or a widow. They remind us of God’s grace and mercy. They create gratitude in our hearts. They keep us busy doing what God wants us to do instead of going back to the guilt of the world.
God bless you, and I love you.
Kevin Cauley