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And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us.
Matthew 6:12
The Bible’s pretty hardcore when it comes to forgiveness. In Matthew 6:14-15, Jesus goes as far as to say that if we don’t forgive others, God won’t forgive us. That was Jesus’ culminating thought after teaching us the Lord’s Prayer.
What that shows us is that conflict in our relationships with others negatively impacts our relationship with God.
Today, think about that person who hurt you. Have you been able to forgive them? You might have been able to do it at one time, but you’ll find you need to keep forgiving them. Don’t let unforgiveness create a rift in your relationship with God.
He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.
Micah 7:19
What would you call someone who keeps forgetting when others harm them and treat them horribly? You might call them naïve. Maybe even foolish. There’s a certain wisdom in stopping hanging around someone when they continually hurt you. That’s how we have to react because we are human.
God, though, operates the way we might consider naïve or foolish. He forgives us beyond what humans are capable. He chooses to forget our wrongs. He destroys the record of our sins, trampling them under His feet.
He can do that because He is God. Our offenses are smaller than His grace. That doesn’t mean we take advantage of His forgiveness or take it for granted. But it also means we can approach Him boldly in prayer and know that He loves us and doesn’t hold our past against us.
...forgive your brother or sister from your heart.
Matthew 18:35
One of the most frustrating things about forgiveness is that we’re called to do it before people have even apologized. So someone wrongs us, then they don’t even acknowledge they did anything wrong, and still we forgive them.
“I’ve forgiven you,” you say to them. “For what?” they ask. That can lead you to a whole new round of anger toward the person.
But Jesus tells us that forgiveness happens in the heart. It doesn’t matter if the other person acknowledges their wrong. Forgiveness sets our heart in a good place. It’s almost more about our own heart than the other person’s part in the matter. Forgive from the heart, regardless of the other person’s response.
As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
Psalm 103:12
There’s a popular trope in political dramas. One candidate always looks for the skeletons buried in another candidate’s closet. “There’s always some dirt to find.” Then the crooked candidate uses those past transgressions against their opponent.
We can all relate to that scenario, because we all have things from our past that we wish we could forget. They’re things that seem to follow us around and make us live in a sense of shame and fear that people will find out.
Well guess what. The Bible tells us that God doesn’t look for dirt on us. It says he removes it from us, so far away that you could never find it. You can go so far North that you eventually are going South in this world, but it doesn’t matter how far East you go, you’ll never stop going East. Our sins have been infinitely removed from us. How awesome is that?!
Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”
Matthew 18:21
That saying “forgive and forget” is a curious one. It’s actually impossible to forget when someone hurts us. Unless you’re Dory from Finding Nemo, you’ll probably remember the wrongs people perpetrate against you.
When Peter asked Jesus how many times he should forgive someone, he seemed to understand this fact. You’ll always remember the times someone wronged you.
But Jesus’ response seems to have an element of forgetfulness to it. It’s not about forgetting what they did wrong, but forgetting how many times you’ve forgiven them. You forget the number, because forgiveness shouldn’t be a limited quantity. God doesn’t limit the number of times He forgives us, and neither should we.
Love prospers when a fault is forgiven.
Proverbs 17:9
Our Hollywood picture of love is two wonderful people doing no wrong to each other. They say all the right things, look the right way, and act the way we think people should. Unfortunately, that’s not real love.
Real love is actually about how we act when people aren’t perfect. When a spouse says something hurtful… When a friend doesn’t come through for you… When a loved one yells at you because they lost their temper…
True love is seen in forgiveness. That’s not to say you allow a pattern of abuse to happen. There are times to escape from people who continually hurt us. But no matter how perfect you think your relationships are, you’ll always get hurt. And true love is about forgiveness in those times. That’s where you see love happen.
Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.
Luke 23:34
Jesus, as He was hanging from the cross, made this statement. He prayed for those who had just crucified Him, tortured Him, drawn His blood… Even as they were actively hurting Him, Jesus chose to forgive them. This is our model of forgiveness.
Now, we’ll never be perfect at it, because the only perfect One who lived was Jesus. At the same time, that doesn’t leave us off the hook.
Today, ask Jesus to empower you to forgive those who have hurt you. Jesus knows what it takes, and He knows how to give you the power to do it.
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