our daily bread
Dexu Xia
Should I Forgive?
Forgive as the Lord forgave you. Colossians 3:13
I arrived early at my church to help set up for an event. A woman stood crying at the opposite end of the sanctuary. She’d been cruel and gossiped about me in the past, so I quickly drowned out her sobs with a vacuum cleaner. Why should I care about someone who didn’t like me?
When the Holy Spirit reminded me how much God had forgiven me, I crossed the room. The woman shared that her baby had been in the hospital for months. We cried, embraced, and prayed for her daughter. After working through our differences, we’re now good friends.
Lord, help us give our grievances to You so that You may turn them into something good.
In Matthew 18, Jesus compares the kingdom of heaven to a king who decided to settle his accounts. A servant who owed a staggering amount of money pleaded for mercy. Soon after the king canceled his debt, that servant tracked down and condemned a man who owed him far less than what he’d owed the king. When word got back to the king, the wicked servant was imprisoned because of his own unforgiving spirit (vv. 23–34).
Choosing to forgive doesn’t condone sin, excuse the wrongs done to us, or minimize our hurts. Offering forgiveness simply frees us to enjoy God’s undeserved gift of mercy, as we invite Him to accomplish beautiful works of peace-restoring grace in our lives and our relationships.
Lord, help us give our grievances to You so that You may turn them into something good. Make us ready to forgive completely and earnestly. Give us Your spirit of unity.
Forgiving others expresses our trust in God’s right to judge according to His perfection and goodness.
我该饶恕吗？
主怎样饶恕了你们，你们也要怎样饶恕人。-歌罗西书3章13节
我提早到教会帮忙安排一个活动，看见礼拜堂的另一头，有位姐妹站在那里哭泣。她曾对我很不友善，还散播与我有关的流言蜚语，所以我立即用吸尘器的声音掩盖她的啜泣声。我何必关心一个不喜欢我的人呢？
然而，圣灵提醒我，上帝一直饶恕我的诸多过犯。于是，我前去关心她，才知道她襁褓中的女儿已经住院好几个月了，我了解她的艰辛，和她一起流泪，互相拥抱，并为她的女儿祷告。彼此间的歧异既已弭平，我们如今成了好友。
在马太福音18章，耶稣将天国比喻为国王结算账目。有个仆人欠国王一大笔钱并请求宽容，但国王免除他积欠的债务之后，他却向另一个欠他钱的人追讨债务。而那人所欠的，远不如他欠国王的多。这件事传到了国王耳中，最后这名恶仆因不饶恕别人，而被关进监牢（23-34节）。
选择原谅他人，并不代表纵容犯罪，或为别人的冒犯行为找藉口，又或是忽视我们所受的伤害。当我们祈求上帝在我们的生命及人际关系中，成就恢复和睦的美事时，只要我们愿意饶恕他人，心灵就能得着释放，享受上帝的宽容与仁慈，而这原是我们不配得的。
主啊，求祢让我将委屈与不平都交在祢的手中，
祢必使之成为美好。求祢让我真心地完全原谅他人，
并赐下合一的灵。原谅他人，即相信完美良善的上帝才有审判人的主权