Forgive or You Will Not Be Forgiven
“For if you forgive men when they
sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not
forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. (Matthew
6:14-15)
With this little addendum to The
Lord’s Prayer, Jesus has caused me and countless others more
consternation than all of his other extreme statements combined. A big part of
me wants to take Jesus to school and tell him that God’s forgiveness is bigger
than my unforgiveness and that I am forgiven by the power of the cross.
But wait a minute; this is Jesus who
said this! It’s in the Bible! He’s the one who went to the cross – surely he of
all people would know that sins are forgiven on the basis of his shed blood for
me and for the sins of the world. So then, what is the point? What is he saying
to us? Is there a deeper meaning? Something that he is warning us about?
As we think about it together, we
can conclude that this is, quite obviously, a very harsh warning. It’s pretty
straight forward – if we don’t forgive others, then God won’t forgive us. And
as much as I would like to correct Jesus on this, or explain it away or write
eloquently on why Jesus didn’t really mean this, I just can’t. The evidence is
overwhelming – Jesus taught this several different times and he even gave us
the parable of the servant who didn’t forgive someone his small debts when he
himself had been forgiven much (see Matthew 18:21-35).
So then, long story short, I must
forgive if I want to be forgiven. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. I can’t argue
about it, plead with Jesus about it, or work my way around it. I just have to
do it. Whether I want to or not, I just have to forgive.
And perhaps that is the way Jesus
wants it. Maybe he is so black and white on this issue – so unflinching and
straight-forward with no room to wriggle out of it – simply because it is so
important to our well-being.
Unforgiveness, as anyone who has
been there can attest, is a toxic poison that can quickly taint a person’s
soul. And it can spread like cancer, starting with one unfortunate event that
lies there unforgiven, and then that open wound begins to fester and bitterness
sets in. Before long, we’re not speaking to that person and just the mention of
his or her name brings up a well of hatred from deep in our soul. If we don’t
forgive and get rid of it, it can consume us to the point that we are totally
fixated on our hatred for others rather than God’s love for all of us.
It’s a horrible way to live, friend,
so please don’t go there. Forgive. Right now. Before it is too late. Don’t let
the darkness of unforgiveness and hate extinguish the light of Christ in your
life. Instead let the light of Christ illuminate the dark corners of
unforgiveness in your heart. Confess your unforgiveness to Him and ask Him to
help you to forgive those who have hurt you.
Remember that this is for your sake,
not for those who have hurt you or even for God. You need to do it for you, and
the health of your soul depends upon it. If you hold on to that unforgiveness,
it will be you who is hurt, not them. It will be you that closes your soul to
God and it will be you that chooses to live in eternity without Him.
I know that this is a harsh warning,
but Jesus meant it to be this way for our own good. Just as a loving parent
will tell a child of the harsh consequences of running out on a busy street,
Jesus is telling us to stay far away from the consequences of unforgiveness.
As a
pastor, I have seen it time and again – the person who can’t forgive others
also has a hard time finding forgiveness for themselves. There seems to be some
kind of spiritual door that swings both ways – the door that allows grace and
forgiveness to flow into a person is the same door that allows grace and
forgiveness to flow out to others.
Open
the door of your heart today. Push it wide open, as far as it will go. Forgive
others, just as your Father in heaven has forgiven you. You won’t be sorry –
you will be greatly rewarded! The love of God and the light of Christ will
flood your soul with His healing balm. Inexplicable joy and a peace that passes
all understanding will be yours as you rejoice with those who are redeemed and
forgiven.
So
don’t put it off another moment. Go to the Father in prayer – right now – and
begin to forgive those who have hurt you in the past or are even causing you
pain in an ongoing situation. Trust God to bring justice and correction to the
situation; for now just forgive them from your heart.
Pray with me:
Father, I forgive those who have hurt me in the past…continue
praying as you are led…
And Father, I forgive these people in my life who are
an ongoing thorn in my flesh…I forgive them and ask that you would bless them
and bring them closer to You… continue praying as you are led…
For further study, meditate on these Scriptures:
Matt 18:21-35 Then Peter
came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother
when he sins against me? Up to seven times?"
Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but
seventy-seven times.
"Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king
who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a
man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. Since he was not able
to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that
he had be sold to repay the debt.
"The servant fell on his knees before him. 'Be
patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.' The servant's
master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.
"But when that servant went out, he found one of
his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to
choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded.
"His fellow servant fell to his
knees and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.'
"But he
refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could
pay the debt. When the other servants
saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their
master everything that had happened.
"Then the master called the servant in. 'You
wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged
me to. Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on
you?' In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until
he should pay back all he owed.
"This is
how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother
from your heart."
Mark 11:25 And when you
stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your
Father in heaven may forgive you your sins."
Luke 6:37 "Do not
judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be
condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
Please use this blog for
personal devotional use and feel free to share it with friends and family.
However, all publishing rights are reserved. No reproduction or publication of
this blog is permitted without the permission of the author, Pastor Randy
Brockett of New Song
Foursquare Church
in Colorado Springs , Colorado
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