Forgive Them

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Tuesday morning, the 14th of July, 2026, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We go straight to the Book of Deuteronomy 19:21. The Lord says to us: “… life shall be for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.”  Then we go straight to the Book of Matthew 5:38-39: “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’  But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.Yoh! That is a challenge, is it not? Because we want justice, we want people to understand that they cannot mess with us. But then we go to Luke 23:34: “Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” We really need to exercise forgiveness, and I can imagine there are a lot of you who are saying, “No, Angus, we have got to pay back for what we get.” Well, Jesus disagrees. He says we have got to go the extra mile. He says we have got to forgive, but He says, “Forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.” Sometimes people are not aware of what they have done, and those same people whom you forgive will come back later and say, “Listen, I made a terrible mistake. Please forgive me.”I am speaking particularly to husbands and wives today. There comes a time when you say, “I am not fighting anymore. I am going to turn the other cheek, you can say what you like but I am not going to retaliate. I am not going to pay back. I am going to leave it in the hands of the Lord. You know, it takes “two to tango”, as they say, and if you say, “I am not arguing, I am not fighting any more, I am making a choice, I am going to forgive you.” And that gives the person an opportunity to realise the mistake he has made. One person said one day, if we had to pay back everybody for everything they have done to us, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, nobody in this world would have any teeth, and we would all be blind. Today, I really want to encourage you to pray over this scripture. It is a tough one. Today, let’s do what Jesus said and let Him undertake for the results.Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day.Goodbye.