Forgive the Inexcusable

   
     So a few years ago I had a different blog on a different domain, and I was rereading some of my old posts when I came across one I completely forgot I ever wrote. I did a really deep study on Acts that year and wrote many blog posts about it, but this one convicted me all over again as I read it. Today instead of writing something brand new, I'm going to re post it. I hope it will be a blessing to you!



 There's a quote by C.S. Lewis that goes, "To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you." One of the best examples of this is found in Acts chapter 7, the last two verses, which read,

 And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

     How often do we get so upset about the most insignificant things? It isn't Christlike nor is it representing God in the way He deserves. We should have mouths that are slow to speak and hearts slow to wrath. Here Stephen is at the end of his life, being stoned for professing Jesus, and he is forgiving them while they're in the midst of their sin. Even at the end of his life he was still living for Christ the way we should strive to live every day.

     Here Stephen is being stoned, and what does he do? He asks God not to count this sin against them. He is asking God to forgive them WHILE HE IS BEING STONED. Stephen died in the name of Christ, he died as a martyr. He did nothing to deserve this punishment, he did nothing to deserve the way he was treated, yet he forgave them. I think too often we get comfortable in our every day lives and we let trivial things get to us. We allow bitterness to sink in where bitterness has no place. We have this mindset that we are entitled to things in this life, and people need to treat us a certain way. If they wrong us, we feel we have the right to be mad, frustrated, or annoyed. When we're professing Jesus in our lives, we don't have room for the frivolous drama of our daily lives. We don't ever have an excuse not to forgive other people for the ways they may harm us. (Usually we do things just as wrong to others and we don't even notice!)

     If anyone had a right to be mad, it was Stephen. I think he shows us an excellent example of a life that glorified God, even when it came to an end. If you're someone who gets mad or annoyed about the superficial things of life, I encourage you to take a look at Stephen.Forgive the inexcusable in others, because God forgave the inexcusable in you.

Stay excellent!