What is the litmus test?
How do you know?
Think of someone you consider your enemy
What sorts of thoughts do you have?
Do you wish the best for them?
Do you pray for them?
Do you love them?
If you would like to see them burn in Hell,
you have hate in your heart
Even if you don’t care about them one way or another,
you might have hate in your heart
God is the One who can show you
He is the only One who knows what is deep down inside of you
David hated his enemies but not because of what they did to him,
but because of the hatred they had for the Lord
That is something to commit to the Lord
because sometimes that can be hard to decipher
There were times when Jesus
taught the disciples to love their enemies Luke 9:51-56
and when Peter cut off the high priest’s ear,
Jesus healed it and told them to put their swords away Luke 22:49-51
I think the key is keeping your emotions and offenses out of it
and judging righteous judgment John 7:24
Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising,
thou understandest my thought afar off. Psalm 139:2
Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me,
and know my thoughts:
And see if there be any wicked way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139:23-24
He wants us to go the extra mile, Matthew 5:41
to try to reconcile to our brother, Matthew 5:24
to try to get along with everyone as much as is possible Romans 12:18
Take yourself and your feelings out of the way
That is, commit all offenses to the Lord
so that He can judge them and pay them back, if He so chooses
The ideal is that they come to understand
what they have done to hurt you or offend you
and they can be better people and more like Jesus
For you, it is learning to trust God completely with each offense
He, who doeth all things well
To me belongeth vengeance and recompence;
their foot shall slide in due time:
for the day of their calamity is at hand,
and the things that shall come upon them make haste.
Deuteronomy 32:35
Some people will never come to that understanding
Some may partially
Nobody will ever understand you as much as Jesus does
Our ultimate goal with each person we encounter
is that God has been able to touch them through us,
Please note I said: ultimately,
but not always realistic because of many things, mainly our flesh
It is to one’s glory to overlook an offense. Proverbs 19:11b NIV
I was reading in my journal from 20 years ago
I went on a trip with a very good friend
I was a seasoned traveler and she didn’t listen to any advice I gave her
She took 2 huge suitcases and a carry on and a large purse
She ended up shipping one suitcase back in the middle of our trip
after she realized I knew what I was talking about
We were traveling through Europe by train
Many stairs, carting our own luggage up the stairs and down the stairs
It seemed there were no elevators anywhere
My friend also didn’t protect her wallet
Someone reached into her purse and stole it
She ran out of cash and had no credit cards the rest of her trip
and needed to borrow money from me
I was not as gracious as I should have been
I forgave her and she did me and we are still friends
Any instance can lead to bitterness and then to hatred
That’s why Paul said: Be ye angry, and sin not:
let not the sun go down upon your wrath:
Neither give place to the devil. Ephesians 4:26-27
Give it up
Let go
Be as much like Jesus as you can be,
asking always for His infinite wisdom
and remembering how much He has forgiven you
People say forgive yourself often
Forgiving yourself may not cut it
Receiving His forgiveness will
Accept His forgiveness
and then, you can in turn forgive others
Looking at your own downfalls
can help you remember to remain humble
Lest you forget where you came from
and how you could be in the same boat if it weren’t for Christ