Forgive & Fulfill

Based on 2 Samuel 14-15, Luke 17:1-19

"Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. 4And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.5And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith." Luke 17:3-5

Do we have faith that God will see us to the other side of forgiveness? Forgiving can sometimes be a difficult thing, and sometimes we don't want to free ourselves from the problem or disagreement because we don't want to let that person "off the hook" for what they did. Instead of holding onto the anger, we need to hold onto Jesus and have faith that He will work on the heart of that person & deal with the situation justly & properly. No wonder the apostles' response to forgiving seven times in a day was, "Lord, Increase our faith"! That takes a lot of faith, patience, and so many other things!

"And there came a messenger to David, saying, The hearts of the men of Israel are after Absalom. 14And David said unto all his servants that were with him at Jerusalem, Arise, and let us flee; for we shall not else escape from Absalom: make speed to depart, lest he overtake us suddenly, and bring evil upon us, and smite the city with the edge of the sword." 2 Samuel 15:13-14

Absalom's heart of unforgiveness caused him to not only turn against his brother & kill him, but eventually grew into a beast of anger against David the king, his own father! Absalom was right to be upset at what his brother did in taking advantage of his sister Tamar, but The Lord says that vengeance is His (Hebrews 10:30)! There were many times in the Bible when God said to act, and there were times when He said to stay still. Absalom never consulted The Lord about any of his actions. Instead of forgiving his brother and being fulfilled with a more peaceful life, Absalom caused his anger to spout out of control. Even after was brought back to the kingdom, he didn't ask for forgiveness for killing his brother. His only aim was to take advantage of his position and try to take the crown for himself. Look what can happen from unforgiveness!

"Then said he unto the disciples, It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come! 2It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones." Luke 17:1-2

It was wrong for Absalom's brother Amnon to rape Tamar. But it doesn't justify the multiple actions that followed in Absalom's life! He wasn't in the right either! He did not have the authority to kill his brother. He did not have the authority to challenge the king's authority either! David did not want to fight against his son, so he fled. David's heart was still full of love toward the son who betrayed him. He could have been outraged at his challenge to the throne, as Saul was in times past, but at that time, position in the kingdom didn't matter. The position in the family mattered more! nd that's how it should be with us. Even if the offence or hurt comes from those closest to us, if we take the leap of faith to forgive, we will be fulfilled instead of destroyed in a downward spiral!