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Musings on Faith #14 Forgive and be Forgiven | |
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Much is said about God's forgiveness, but we, too, are to forgive. We have all heard people say "I can never forgive him for .......". But the Scriptures are replete with the command to forgive, as well as the imperative to forgive. Of course, the greatest example of forgiveness in all the Bible is Christ's forgiveness on the cross, when He said of those who were killing Him "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do (Luke 23:34, KJV)". This should be not only an illustration to us of God's forgiveness, but also an example to us for our own forgiveness of those who hurt us. God expects us to forgive, but there is much more to it than that. He also tells us that we must forgive others so that we may be forgiven. It is even part of what we call "The Lord's Prayer". "And forgive us our debts [or trespasses, or sins], as we forgive our debtors [or, those who trespass against us] (Matthew 6:12, KJV)". And immediately after uttering this prayer, Jesus went on to say "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 (Matthew 6:14-15, KJV)". Do we not understand the impact of these verses? Do we not see that if we harbor unforgiveness in our hearts, God, our Father, will not forgive us? Not only will God not forgive us if we are unforgiving of those who have hurt or offended us, but the |
(Continued) Scriptures also tell us that He will deal with us harshly for our unforgiving hearts. After telling the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant (which ended with the master turning the harsh servant over to the jailers to be tortured until he paid back all he owed), He said "This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from the heart (Matthew 18:35, NIV)". Powerful words! Powerful admonition! Not only are we to forgive, but we will be harshly punished if we do not. Think about it: Those who harbor unforgiveness in their hearts suffer bitterness, anger, discontent, unhappiness, and all sorts of other negative feelings. These negatives lead us to harm essential relationships, and can even cause us to become sick! Is not this the punishment of God for our disobedience? Sure it is - we just don't choose to recognize it! Paul said "Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice (Ephesians 4:31, NIV)". Are not all of these products of unforgiveness? Again, yes! Dont say, "I can't forgive her for .......". Of course you can! It is a matter of choice, through the leading of the Holy Spirit, and of obedience to God's command. Forgive, and be forgiven! Yours in Christ, Tom Woodard |
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