Being a follower of Jesus can be challenging and go against what we really want to do. In today's gospel, Jesus tells us that he understands that temptation will always come. He knows and expects that, but also expects us to attempt to lead a life worthy of our call to be His followers. He gets tough, though, when he warns us about leading others to sin. We are called to attempt to lead a life worthy of Him, and to not be hypocritical in our faith in Him and in our actions with others.
There are those in our lives that look to us as examples of what it means to be Christian. If we're preaching love and forgiveness to others, we better be practicing that forgiveness ourselves. We are called to be always forgiving and understanding of the shortcomings of other people. Our Lord tells us, "If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him." (Luke 17:3) We are to lead others to Christ not only by our words of correction, but by our forgiveness towards them! Jesus goes on to say, "And if he wrongs you seven times in one day and returns to you seven times saying, ‘I am sorry,’ you should forgive him." (Luke 17:4)
So, let us attempt to be loving and forgiving of those in our lives today, whether they are family members (usually the hardest to forgive) or the co-worker that can be annoying in his/her actions towards you. Remember, Jesus is asking us to be loving and forgiving at all times with those in our lives. And this may be the way you can lead others to understand the love and forgiveness that God has for each one of us.
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