Love and forgiveness should be the chosen path over hate and revenge. This deeply moving story strikes a chord in many of us who have grown up in an area where fear and violence were and are a daily, sometimes minute to minute occurrence. This minister tells us about his life in a hostile environment and his survival.
"I grew up in a neighbourhood where there was a lot of drinking. With the drinking came lots of trouble and you had to know when to get out of Dodge in order to miss the next shootout at the OK Coral. I had my share of bumps, bruises, and abuses but my street sense kept me one step ahead of becoming a total victim."
Love and forgiveness should be the chosen path over hate and revenge. I am in agreement with this author that Love can conquer even the most bitter of lives. I have seen it happen and it is always the most amazing and inspiring experience to witness the metamorphosis from despair to devotion to a more meaningful and fulfilling life.
"I grew up in a neighbourhood where there was a lot of drinking. With the drinking came lots of trouble and you had to know when to get out of Dodge in order to miss the next shootout at the OK Coral. I had my share of bumps, bruises, and abuses but my street sense kept me one step ahead of becoming a total victim."
"If I think about it, I can still remember in living colour moments of intense fear and thoughts of certain death. Looking back at that time in my life doesn’t give me a lot of pleasant thoughts so I choose not to go there.
At 21 years old I heard the good news about Jesus and I became a Christian. I asked Jesus to forgive me and be the Lord of my life. I now understood what it meant to be forgiven of my mistakes but then I had to begin a personal journey to forgive others.
I said all of that to say that receiving forgiveness from God was a lot easier for me than giving forgiveness to those who hurt me. I had been taught not to forgive but to get even and getting even usually meant that I was to hurt back a lot more than I’d been hurt. The golden rule was to do unto others triple damage as they had done unto you.
I started to read verses like Matthew 5:44 Jesus speaking: “But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.”
If I was going to let Jesus be my Lord then I had to decide if I was going to blame others, get even, or trust God. You can not love your enemies and blame them at the same time. You can’t bless those you hate unless you live a lie. I had to ask myself, is Jesus Lord of all or is He not Lord at all?
http://www.capebretonpost.com/Opinion/Columns/2011-07-22/article-2670622/Love-and-forgiveness-should-be-the-chosen-path-over-hate-and-revenge/1
"As I read the Bible I couldn’t find anyone who had come into victory because they had extracted some sense of personal revenge. Nowhere could I find a person who blamed someone else and it led them into a place of finding freedom. I discovered that even when I was 100 per cent correct in who I was blaming for my problem, blaming others would never fix my problem. Even if someone else played a major role in making me have a problem, it would need to be me who played the major role in my escape.
Have I arrived at a place of perfect peace? I would like to say yes but I would have to say no. No I haven’t attained all that Jesus has for me yet but the good news is I’m still en route. When someone does me wrong I still remember how to think wrong but give me a minute and I’ll come around.
Revenge leads to anger and anger to bitterness and none of those guys will ever be your friend. It takes a bigger person to forgive someone than it does to hate someone. Hate and revenge comes from our old nature while love and forgiveness comes from our new life in Jesus Christ.
I pray that you find a good church to attend and exchange your bitter life for a better life.
God bless you all."
Kevin Mattatall is the pastor of the Cape Breton Christian Fellowship Church. We welcome your comments on this column or any other material appearing in the Cape Breton Post. You can write c/o Letters to the Editor, Cape Breton Post, 255 George St., PO Box 1500, Sydney N.S. BIP 6K6; fax to (902) 562-7077 or email to letters@cbpost.com.
At 21 years old I heard the good news about Jesus and I became a Christian. I asked Jesus to forgive me and be the Lord of my life. I now understood what it meant to be forgiven of my mistakes but then I had to begin a personal journey to forgive others.
I said all of that to say that receiving forgiveness from God was a lot easier for me than giving forgiveness to those who hurt me. I had been taught not to forgive but to get even and getting even usually meant that I was to hurt back a lot more than I’d been hurt. The golden rule was to do unto others triple damage as they had done unto you.
I started to read verses like Matthew 5:44 Jesus speaking: “But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.”
If I was going to let Jesus be my Lord then I had to decide if I was going to blame others, get even, or trust God. You can not love your enemies and blame them at the same time. You can’t bless those you hate unless you live a lie. I had to ask myself, is Jesus Lord of all or is He not Lord at all?
http://www.capebretonpost.com/Opinion/Columns/2011-07-22/article-2670622/Love-and-forgiveness-should-be-the-chosen-path-over-hate-and-revenge/1
"As I read the Bible I couldn’t find anyone who had come into victory because they had extracted some sense of personal revenge. Nowhere could I find a person who blamed someone else and it led them into a place of finding freedom. I discovered that even when I was 100 per cent correct in who I was blaming for my problem, blaming others would never fix my problem. Even if someone else played a major role in making me have a problem, it would need to be me who played the major role in my escape.
Have I arrived at a place of perfect peace? I would like to say yes but I would have to say no. No I haven’t attained all that Jesus has for me yet but the good news is I’m still en route. When someone does me wrong I still remember how to think wrong but give me a minute and I’ll come around.
Revenge leads to anger and anger to bitterness and none of those guys will ever be your friend. It takes a bigger person to forgive someone than it does to hate someone. Hate and revenge comes from our old nature while love and forgiveness comes from our new life in Jesus Christ.
I pray that you find a good church to attend and exchange your bitter life for a better life.
God bless you all."
Kevin Mattatall is the pastor of the Cape Breton Christian Fellowship Church. We welcome your comments on this column or any other material appearing in the Cape Breton Post. You can write c/o Letters to the Editor, Cape Breton Post, 255 George St., PO Box 1500, Sydney N.S. BIP 6K6; fax to (902) 562-7077 or email to letters@cbpost.com.
Love and forgiveness should be the chosen path over hate and revenge. I am in agreement with this author that Love can conquer even the most bitter of lives. I have seen it happen and it is always the most amazing and inspiring experience to witness the metamorphosis from despair to devotion to a more meaningful and fulfilling life.
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