If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
Love keeps no record of wrongs. (I Corinthians 13:3,5)
Forgiving Father,
You have made it clear that unless we forgive, we will not be forgiven. But as human beings, though we forgive, we are unable to fully forget. And when we do not forget, we can still begin dwelling on wrongs done to us in the past and our supposed forgiveness begins to fade. In this teaching, Paul tells us that when we do that, our good works for you are worthless because we are the most unlike Jesus when we grasp hold of wrong done to us.
Father, I pray these children regularly search their hearts for any feelings they still harbor toward those who have wronged them. Give them the power to let go of those wrongs, whether or not the person committing them has asked for forgiveness and whether or not the person continues to inflict hurt. Help them to learn that holding onto those hurts only hurts themselves and prevents them from healing and being the strong soldier for you that you intend them to be. Help them to learn that taking the high road ultimately leads others to respect them and to discount the comments made by those who would detract from them. And as they take that high road of letting go of hurts inflicted by others, they will exhibit your righteousness as they go about Kingdom work, and thereby you will be glorified.
Amen
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