Forgive, From Mom

God's mercy.  Psalm 103:3  He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases.   

From the Word Wealth section of the Spirit Filled Bible:  "to pardon, spare someone, to relieve someone of the burden of their offense."

Colossians 3:13  Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.

Word Wealth:  "show kindness unconditionally, give freely, grant forgiveness, forgive freely.

Luke 23:34  Forgiveness is made possible through Christ who forgave us.  Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.”  And the soldiers gambled for his clothes by throwing dice.

Colossians 1:14  who purchased our freedom[a] and forgave our sins.

Ephesians 4:29-32  Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.   And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.  Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.


From me:

Forgiveness.  It's not optional for us.  God has forgiven me so very much.  And continues to do so.  I always think, who am I to withhold forgiveness from anyone.  And the Bible has so many verses on the forgiveness offered to us by God and instructions on us to follow His example and extend it to others.  One of the scariest parables Jesus told was on being a person who is unforgiving.

Matthew 18:21-25  21 Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?”  22 “No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven!  23 “Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a king who decided to bring his accounts up to date with servants who had borrowed money from him. 24 In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions of dollars.  25 He couldn’t pay, so his master ordered that he be sold—along with his wife, his children, and everything he owned—to pay the debt.  26 “But the man fell down before his master and begged him, ‘Please, be patient with me, and I will pay it all.’ 27 Then his master was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt.  28 “But when the man left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars.He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment.   29 “His fellow servant fell down before him and begged for a little more time. ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it,’ he pleaded. 30 But his creditor wouldn’t wait. He had the man arrested and put in prison until the debt could be paid in full.  31 “When some of the other servants saw this, they were very upset. They went to the king and told him everything that had happened. 32 Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. 33 Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’ 34 Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt.35 “That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters[m] from your heart.”

I can't imagine not forgiving someone after reading that.  And then there is Matthew 6:14-15 “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you.  But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.

I know my heart.  I know my life.  I know the size and scale of my debt, the long, long list of offenses that God has wiped away.  He has so graciously pardoned me.  It is only right that I never hold or harbor unforgiveness against another.

I know there have been some horrendous hurts in many peoples lives.  I don't believe God isn't sympathetic with the damage done to our hearts when another abuses us, or causes unfathomable harm to another human being, destroys the things or people we love.  Some things seem so completely unforgivable.  Our only example is Jesus.  On the Cross He asked the Father to forgive those who put Him there.  Those we mercilessly abused Him and would soon murder Him.

In all honestly I believe our Father asks us to forgive these terrible hurts for our own good. Unforgiveness is toxic.  It's poison to our systems...polluting us spiritually, emotionally, and physically.  He knows the damage it causes the one who walks in it.  It will gradually darken every corner of our lives if we allow it a foothold.  It is not easy, nor is it done in human strength.  It's all God working through us.  It can only be so.  I always marvel at those Christian brothers and sisters who forgive the ones who persecute them for their faith in Jesus Christ.  I wonder how they can forgive those who murdered their family, burned down their homes, or caused great physical harm to their bodies....yet these amazing men and women do just that.  It is definitely a work of the Holy Spirit.  And who knows, perhaps that forgiveness will one day lead the person who caused the harm to Jesus.

Lord, help me never to forget Your mercy to me, and help me to ever walk in that same mercy to those around me.  In Psalm 103:12 we are told:  He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.  That is amazing to me.  Thank You.

Let us search our hearts this week to see if there is unforgiveness living there.  And then release it. It's an act of will, not of emotion.  And act of obedience.  Lord give us the strength and will to do this....