"Perhaps thou shalt say: The man has brought upon himself his misery; therefore... his punishments are just." This unforgiving attitude pointed out by the prophet Benjamin is a warning to all who desire mercy from the Lord. All things on this earth actually belong to God and not to us, so every sin is really against the Lord. Thus, the Lord has said: "I the Lord will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men."
"For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."
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Faith includes an "assurance of things hoped for" (Hebrews 11:1). This assurance comes only from Heavenly Father. True faith will always be accompanied by this heavenly assurance. No matter how strongly we cling to a false belief, we will never receive a spiritual assurance to accompany it. Every person on this earth is a spiritual son or a daughter of God. Every seed has potential to become like that from which it came. When the Savior commanded us to be perfect, he wasn't giving us an impossible goal. Perfection may be a long way off, but each of us have the ability to improve ourselves one step at a time. We may not reach perfection in this life, but death does not mark the end of the process. But to be motivated to faith in this life, we must believe that eventually we can reach our potential--the perfection of our Father. Humility isn't a lack of confidence. Meekness isn't the opposite of having self-esteem. Jesus Christ said the meek "shall inherit the earth." We wouldn't think that at that point the earth will be filled with frightened people who hang their heads low. When it comes to identifying the Lord's shepherds, the Lord has said "Ye shall know them by their fruits... A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit." Identifying the Lord's sheep can be more difficult. With so many sheep around--some from one flock and some from another--how can one find a sheep that's simply gone astray, or one that is trying to find his or her way into the Lord's flock? True charity means kindness even when enduring the consequences of poor choices of those you love. Our Heavenly Father loves us and blesses us even when we've directly violated promises we've made to Him. Perhaps this helps to clarify the scriptural phrase: "How long shall I suffer you?" Part of John the Baptist's mission was to overthrow the kingdom of the Jews. But he never toppled the existing government. He was eventually killed by a civic leader, Herod. The Jewish and Roman leadership later combined to scourge and crucify the Savior. Faith implies that you don't have a perfect knowledge of something. While so many in the world today insist on fully understanding every point of doctrine before they will accept it, the Lord's way is different. Jesus Christ told Peter: "Blessed art thou Simon Bar-Jonas, for flesh and blood hath not revealed this unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven." |
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