So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Colossians 3:12 (NASB)
Last time we looked at the danger of an unbiblical response to being rejected. Left unchecked, bitterness eats away at the heart blotting out all that is spiritual about a person. The person becomes a fool, lost in the misery of their own emotions. In the bitterness of heart they reject God's ways, believe He is not for us but against us!
Bitterness becomes a python around the heart, slowly winding its way around and around, closing it off, choking the spiritual life out of it and us. We distance ourselves from the Word and our spiritual disciplines as it gains ground in our lives and before long we seem to be but a shell of who we once were.You don't have to be a Bible scholar to understand that since God has forgiven us we are to be forgiving to other people. We are to forgive as we have been forgiven. We are all sinners saved by grace and nothing more. We have been forgiven our rejection of Christ, so why would we believe we could withhold forgiveness from others for the same kind of offense?
You don't have to feel forgiving because forgiveness is an act of faith. It is an act of your will to forgive and to determine to remember no more the rejection you have experienced.
When you resist the temptation to meditate on, dwell on, or cherish the hurt of rejection you will eventually be able to forget it. This demands you stop cherishing the hurt in your heart, and stop dwelling on it. Rather, choose to remember that you have forgiven the person or people who have rejected you.
This is the essence of our life in Christ. Forgiveness, and forgiving people who do not "deserve" it. No one who is in Christ deserves forgiveness, we all deserve hell and eternal misery. We must choose to see ourselves as debtors and extend to others what has been extended to us.
Forgiveness is not an option, and will bind you to bitterness that has potential to ruin your life. Determine to glorify God, despite how you feel today.