"Make allowance for each other's faults"

Sitting around after watching "To Save a Life," my best friend & I decided it was a good time to do our devotionals for the evening. Mine read:

"When it comes to forgiving, you can't say it better than Time Stafford did: 'I would rather be cheated a hundred times, than develop a heart of stone.' The Bible says, 'Make allowance for each other's faults, and forgive anyone who offends you.' You don't get to choose who you'll forgive. Love is a command, forgiveness is an act of obedience. 'He has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother' (1Jn 4:21 NIV) You can't be closer to God than you are to the people you love least. God sets the bar high because grudges are like cancer, and forgiveness is the laser that removes them. Bitterness chains us to the part, destroys families, divides churches and sours relationships. Forgiveness is the key that unlocks the handcuffs of hate. Take your hurt feelings to God and say, 'Point out anything... that offends you' (Ps 139:24 NLT). It takes courage, but that's the kind of prayer He answers. It gets easier as you grow in Christ; in the meantime you have to work at it. As a child of God, His Spirit lives inside you. You're no longer a slave to sin (See Ro 6:14). God knows it's hard to forgive deep-seated hurts, but He will give you grace to do it. To 'make allowance' means to take a charitable view and consider extenuating circumstances. People change and grow over time, so don't insist on clinging to a limited, outdated view of them. Try to see them as they are today. Most folks are doing their best based on the knowledge and understanding they have now, so give them a break!"

After reading this, I start to think of all the people I have "forgiven". I say I forgave them but I know I only half forgave them. What would this world be without forgiveness? God gave His one & only son to die for our sins so that we could be FORGIVEN!! So who the heck are we to constantly point fingers at mistakes others have made. Every one I know has made a mistake in the life, but the good thing about it is that we have every chance to be forgiven. But before I just run out & claim to forgive every one that has ever hurt me, I really had to sit down & figure out exactly how I can whole-heartedly forgive & move on:

-Don't seek retaliation. Instead, "Overcome evil with good" (Ro 12:21). No good will come from getting back at a person who hurt you; you will just be stooping to their level. Instead, give it up to God & have the ability to forgive. God said, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay" (Ro 12:19).
-Don't rush to judgment. That's not always an easy thing to do when you are are injured party, but the ultimate Judge said, "With what judgment you judge, you will be judge" (Mt 7:2). Every body makes judgments in their live whether they mean to or not, but we have no right to judge until we are a perfect person... which will be Never. So until then, we all need to stop passing judgments.
-Make things right. Jesus said, "Be reconciled to your brother" (Mt 5:24). Don't wait for the other person to make the first move, you do it. If you are contemplating working things out, stop thinking about it so much, get out there & do it. The longer you hold a grudge, the more "cancer" you have in your body. You need to work things out so you can forgive, get your "laser" to remove your "cancer", get on with your life. Paul says, "Make every effort in live in peace with all men" (Heb 12:14).
-Pray for the offender. As much as it goes against your character, when you "pray for those who mistreat you" (Lk 6:28), God gives you the grace to forgive and see them through His eyes.

So what are you waiting for? Time is wasting- go out & forgive someone today! : )