Have you ever noticed that to ring a huge bell, all that has to be done is to pull on a long rope and then the bells will keep ringing over and over far more times than the rope was pulled. This is the way our thoughts work too. When we stew on past pains, we pull that rope and then the memories and the feelings resound over and over again within us, just because we pulled on that rope. The only way to stop it is to grab the bell and hold it still. We do this by reminding ourselves that we will not ring those bells.
We are not always the one that pulls on the rope. Sometimes a circumstance or a phrase triggers something inside of us and pulls that rope for us and rings the bells of emotions. When that happens, we may not have been responsible for the pull, but we are responsible for stopping the continued ringing.
When it is pain that is continually ringing in our hearts and minds, we must revisit what Jesus told Peter when asked how many times he should forgive his brother. Jesus told Peter to do it seventy times seven. (Matthew 18:21-22). So at least 490 times. As I have contemplated this concept in my own personal pains of life, I have found that it is not just 490 times, no it is 490 times a day. Because you see every time that bell rings, we are tested again if we will continue to pull the rope or if we will stop the bell and forgive again. As many times as that bell rings, that is as many times as we are to forgive them. They may not have hurt us that many times, but because the bell is ringing, we are hurt that many times. God calls us to continue to forgive. As we obey and forgive over and over, we will send the message that our bells will not ring at the pulling of the enemy, but that we will keep our hearts at peace.
Do not join the enemy in ringing the bells in your life but join Christ who brought peace on earth in forgiving. As He was on the cross, He said, “Father forgive them, they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34). He forgave them in the act, can’t we forgive too. As this Christmas season comes with family reunions or losses of loved ones, I hope you are encouraged to be the one bringing peace as Jesus did.
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