For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.   Matthew 6:14-15 NKJV

Have you ever, in anger, wished that someone would get what they truly deserve? If someone wrongs us, we look forward to them getting some sort of payback for that. It’s our human nature, right?

Have you ever thought about what you deserve? What if God actually gave each and everyone of us what we deserve? We are all sinners (Romans 3:23). Ecclesiastes 7:20 tells us that there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins. We all sin, we all need Jesus.

Yet, when someone wrongs us we consider that to be worse than anything we have ever done. We consider that to be a sin punishable by death. Sin is sin. When we sin, we sin against God and God only (Psalm 51:4). It may effect someone else, but our sins are committed against God. So, are we to consider ourselves above God? Are we to consider someone else’s sins against us worse than the ones we commit against God? What makes us so special that we think we might get special treatment from God even though we fail to obey His commands? What makes us think that He will overlook our sin against Him, but bring vengeance on those who sin against us? It’s pretty arrogant on our part when you think about it.

When someone wrongs me, the last thing I want to do is love them as my enemy or pray for them while they persecute me. But that is exactly what Jesus tells us to do in Matthew 5:44. He set the example from the cross when He prayed for those crucifying Him. In Luke 23:34, Jesus said, “Father forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” 

We want God to bring His wrath down on those who have done us wrong, but what if He brought His wrath down on us for our sins? What if we got what we deserved?

As Christians, we can be forgiven, we need only ask. God poured His wrath on His Son, Jesus Christ, for our sins. I guess that makes us pretty special, but we still must accept that salvation. It is freely offered, but not forced on us. It’s a choice that we must make.

If you have accepted Christ as your savior and you are a blood bought child of God, God is with you. He is right there with you when someone wrongs you. He is there with you when others come against you. We have to trust in Him. We are told in Hebrews 11:6 that without faith it is impossible to please God. We have to trust in Him. He’s got this.

We also have to obey Him. When we intentionally sin and fail to give up our sinful behavior, we deserve God’s wrath. We have committed a sin against Him. When someone sins against us, we must turn that over to God. We must love them and pray for them. We must forgive them. We may need God’s help to do this.  But don’t worry. He will be glad to help you get your heart right.

Praying makes it easier to forgive. Giving it over to God and placing it in His very capable hands takes the burden off of us. We may still have to deal with their behavior, but we can rest assured that God is working. We should stay focused on Him and let Him take care of everything else (Matthew 6:33)

If you are a blood bought child of God and you have accepted the salvation that He so freely offered, this is what makes you special. If you trust in Him and obey Him, then know that He’s got your back. Trust in Him to handle whatever comes your way. Obey Him even when He tells you to do the hard stuff like loving your enemies and praying for those who persecute you. If those people can come to Christ then they can be your brothers and sisters in Christ. If they don’t they are doomed to eternity in a fiery hell. If you are hoping that’s what they get, you are committing murder in your heart. 1 John 3:15 tells us that everyone who hates his brother is a murderer and eternal life is not in them.

Know that in God’s eyes His children are special, but He is a just God. Trust in Him to take care of you. Do as He commands us. Obey Him.

Have a great day!