Sunday, April 26 Just as Jehovah freely forgave you, you must also do the same.​—Col. 3:13.

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Sunday, April 26

Just as Jehovah freely forgave you, you must also do the same.—Col. 3:13.

 

Jehovah expects us to be ready to forgive those who hurt us. (Ps. 86:5;

 Luke 17:4; Eph. 4:32) We may be deeply hurt because of what someone says or does to us, especially if that person is a close friend or family member. (Ps. 55:12-14) At times, the emotional pain we suffer can be likened to being stabbed. (Prov. 12:18) We may try to suppress or ignore our hurt feelings. But doing so might be like getting stabbed and then leaving the knife in the wound. Similarly, we cannot expect our hurt feelings to get better if we simply ignore them. When someone offends us, our initial reaction may be to get angry. The Bible acknowledges that we may become wrathful. However, it warns against allowing that emotion to dominate us. (Ps. 4:4; Eph. 4:26) Why? Because anger seldom leads to good results. (Jas. 1:20) Remember, getting angry is a reaction, but remaining angry is a choice. w25.02 15 ¶4-6

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Jehovah expects us to be ready to forgive. That implies that before someone even sins against us, or before we even know of their sin, forgiveness has already started to take the lead — before the hurt, before the pain, before the betrayal.