Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Forgiveness and Gods Unconditional Love

In todays society I think we would all agree that the statistics for divorce is increasing at an alarming rate. But would you also agree that if we truly understood what it means to have the unconditional love of God those rates would drop tremendously? Not only do we put limitations on our love, but we are unwilling to forgive one another for ANY/ALL wrong doings.
Some may say that, "well if he/she did this or that I just couldn't forgive them." Well that's not showing the unconditional love and forgiveness that God intends for us to have. The bible tells us to forgive so that we may be forgiven. (Luke 17:4) states that no matter how many times a person wrongs us , if they ask for forgiveness we ought to forgive.
Now I know that this is easier said than done in most cases, especially if infidelity is involved. But if that is the case , there is nothing too hard for God (Luke 18:27) ...but with God all things are made possible. Forgiveness is not just for the other person, it is to ease our troubled mind and give us peace and the strength to move on from the hurt. You may not fully understand why things happened but there is a purpose to everything you may experience in this life. All things work together for the good of them that love the Lord and are called to his purpose. (Romans 8:28) There is a reason for each trial and storm and God knew you could handle it.

Question of the day: If God is for marriage, and it being the example of his love for the church , when then is adultry permissible grounds for divorce?

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

According to Bible.com:
First we must call divorce what it is--sin. Then we must look to God's Word to see how He deals with this, or any other sin. Divorce causes one to commit the sin of adultery.

"It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement: But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery" (Matthew 5:31-32).

Now let us look at a case concerning a woman who was caught in the act of adultery and see how the Lord deals with her.

"They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him, But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not. So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground. And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more" (John 8:4-11).

From this account we see the Lord extending mercy to this woman and forgiving her of her sin. We also notice that He made an important statement, "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone."

The Lord treats all sins alike as far as redemption is concerned; sin is sin. The answer to every sin problem is the acceptance of Jesus and His sacrifice that cleanses us from sin. If we turn to Jesus, no matter what sin we commit, we will find forgiveness and mercy. The Lord did not say she had not sinned, but forgave her and admonished her to "sin no more." The sin of divorce is not the unpardonable sin. No matter what sin we have committed in our lives, whether it be lying, cheating, stealing, murder or divorce, Jesus made a way for us to cleansed and forgiven. When the Lord forgives sin, He also ceases to remember it. God's love and forgiveness is so different from man's. Hebrews 10:17 says, "And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more."

Anonymous said...

WOW!!! that was eye opening. You never look at things that way while you're in the situation. You're blinded by the hirt and pain of infidelity and you cant think of any other thing but getting out. But i know if you belong to God , we have to do things his way, or we ourselves must suffer the consequences of our actions. Deep conversation, and much needed.

Anonymous said...

easier said than done