Perhaps the greatest inhibitor toward our own personal revival is having a heart that refuses to forgive?

21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, if my brother keeps on sinning against me, how many times do I have to forgive him? Seven times?”
22 “No, not seven times,” answered Jesus, “but seventy times seven,Matthew 18:21-22

In my earlier post, I published an article written by Josh Tevlin, Star Tribune columnist who wrote about the young Muslim woman who chose to forgive her assailant who attacked her with a swinging beer bottle because she didn't agree with her religious custom of wearing the Hijab and choosing to speak in Swahili with her friends she was with that evening. As I read that article, it occurred to me that the greatest inhibitor toward any personal revival is our own lack of forgiveness toward those who have hurt us.

It's as though our hearts have turned to stone leading us to behave toward those around us with a lack of understanding and unwillingness to walk in each other's shoes. 

 In the heart of each person is an accumulative list of people who have hurt us.  It is human nature for all of us to keep score, like the play by play announcer broadcasting the game of the year.  As our list grows, so does the complexities of communication.  We become very careful who we invite to social functions to avoid the awkward moment when someone tells us, "didn't you know that John isn't talking to Jim?". 

Our list of wrongs can even go back to several generations. People we never knew we never got along with  are carried forward into our present day list such as, "we don't associate with those kind." or " they're not of our faith so we don't include them."

I would like to surmise that the greatest inhibitor toward any personal revival of our soul is our own lack of forgiveness toward those with differing views from us. What instead of pillaging the airwaves with our attacks on others who differ from us we choose to walk in their shoes? 

What if instead of attacking those we think are taking advantage of social security, we choose to understand them with careful questions and willing to research the chronic condition they are constantly dealing with on a daily, weekly and monthly basis?  

What if we strove to understand our friends of the Muslim faith instead of responding like the attacker did at the City of Coon Rapids Applebees because she hated what this woman stood for or the beliefs she held?

I would surmise if we all learn to forgive those who have wronged us or hurt us by giving our list's to God that like the beautiful fragrance of precious perfume our lives would change for the better. Instead of a heart of stone and an exterior shell of concrete, our lives are filled with love for those around us and this would be very pleasing to God.

Remember, Jesus reminded Peter when he asked "how many times must I have to forgive him, seven times?"  Jesus's response to Peter is a response that all of us in modern day ask thinking if someone hurts you enough can you stop forgiving them?

His response? “No, not seven times,” answered Jesus, “but seventy times seven,"