Forgiveness

Luke 6:37-38 ^“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.  Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

I must have heard this passage a hundred times and yet somehow I did not allow it to reach me in its entirety until recently.  Oh, I know that I needed to be loving and kind, giving and forgiving, but how about my recent hurts, or those who keep hurting me…over and over?  What about them?

Luke 17:3-4 “If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.”

So how about the unrepentant?

Matthew 6:14-15 ^“For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”

Whoah!!!

Mark 11:24-25 “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.  And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”

Forgiveness is a big deal. These are the words of Jesus Himself.  He calls us to forgiveness; but why?  Is it so that those that we forgive can continue to hurt us or others?  Is it so that they can be relieved of our unforgiveness?   Think about it, who are we hurting with our withholding of forgiveness?  Does the offender lose sleep at nights thinking of how we won’t let go of what has transpired?  In most cases, no…they don’t.  Holding on to unforgiveness hardens your heart.  It brings bitterness and it festers.  It hinders our prayers and our relationship with God.   Jesus commands us to forgive, not only for what it does for others but for what it does for us.  It frees us.

When Jesus offered His life for us, it was for the forgiveness of our sins, while we were still sinners.

Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

He did not withhold His forgiveness from us. He did not condemn us.  He set us free.  As He forgave us…so should we forgive others. 

John 20:21-23 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”  And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

He gave us the authority and power to forgive as He forgave.  Now none of these are new concepts to me, but what was new was the realization of my own unforgiveness and the condition of my heart. When I truly examined myself, and asked for God’s help in revealing what I might be holding on to…I was surprised.  I had thought…oh, I forgave that person long ago, and truly I thought that I had, but whenever something would happen that would trigger thoughts of this person and that particular situation, that old wound would rip right open again.   Holding an account of the wrongs committed against us keeps us from focusing on letting go of the past and moving forward.  The example Jesus gave to us is to forgive, freely, and without keeping track of past wrongs. 

So how does this work when I am so hurt?  How can I forgive someone who hurt me so badly, and if given the chance would do it again? Start small, say the words “I forgive ______.” Pray for them. You may not even mean it at first, but keep trying and don’t give up. Saying I forgive them does not mean that I need to pick up our relationship where we left off.  It does not mean that I drop all my boundaries in regards to that person.  What it means is that I let go of the past.  I let go of my hurt.  When I think of this person and that particular hurt, I think of them with compassion and wish them the same forgiveness that God has shown me.  I pray that they receive healing and deliverance, I pray for God’s mercy upon them.

When hurt comes again…and it will, for we live in a broken world with broken people, I guard my heart.  I choose compassion instead of offense.   I choose love over hate.  I try to picture them as God sees them.  I realize that the true enemy is not the flesh and blood person I see before me, but “the prince of the power of the air”, “the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God.”  I will obey and I will forgive.

Colossians 3:12-14 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.  And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.