Luke 23:34a

Luke 23:34a – Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

        It was right in the middle of persecution. While these men were mocking Him, ridiculing Him, beating Him and ultimately killing Him, Jesus could look past it and see the broken, hurting people inside. It was for these very men that Jesus was enduring the cross. As they were nailing Him to the cross Jesus saw them through the eyes of Love and had compassion for them.

        Jesus told us we are to Love our enemies and right here we see Him doing exactly that. This prayer Jesus prayed really shows His heart and the heart of God for us. It still amazes me how God could look through all of the sin in our lives and Love us. Each one of us has sinned, we have all fallen short, but God still sees us as His children.

        Think about when someone wrongs you or does something to hurt you. First of all it doesn't feel good, sometimes it hurts physically, but mostly emotionally. And second, you want to protect yourself from it ever happening again. God is not like that. He does feel the pain every time we sin, but once we receive His forgiveness He never holds it against us again.
        As we look at Jesus example of forgiveness to those who were killing Him, we can know that He will forgive us for all we've done. Go to God; receive forgiveness for all you've done and allow Jesus to make your heart pure. Don’t wait another day to come to Him; know that He will not condemn you. There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.