Walking the Talk
There is a tendency built in all of us to profess more than what we walk. Paul spoke of those people who are "Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth" (2 Timothy 3:7). The "knowledge" of the truth is "the full knowledge" or that which has been tested in experience. The most precarious thing about the truth is that it is all too easy to "intellectualize" it, thus divorcing it from our behavior.
A major pitfall in the ministry is to preach a truth, employ it in our ministry to others but fail to make personal application of it. The consequence of such failure is to make the truth a lie and our lives a sham.
The ministry of forgiveness presents a greater potential for duplicity than any other Gospel truth. The development and entrenchment of offense in one’s life is so insidious that it tends to be glossed over with explanations and justifications.
An ever-present inclination in the forgiveness ministry is the tendency toward making critical assessments of the attitude and intent of others, i. e. being judgmental. It is easy to develop a backlog of offense.
The precise things we preach against and minister to in the lives of others, we tend to gloss over in ourselves, excusing them for expediency’s sake
We develop in power as we develop compassion and judge our expectations. We must do as Paul commanded that we “forgive one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.” (Ephesians 4:32).
Jeff
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