We’ve all heard dramatic stories of forgiveness which leave us standing in awe of such grace. Yet, while we were still sinners Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). He didn’t wait until we cleaned up our act a bit or looked more presentable. But when we were dirty, miserable and stinky He died for us, extending a grace we can never this side of heaven fully grasp. We know that without His forgiveness we are hopeless, so sermons are popular that tell of Jesus great love and mercy in forgiving us (Ephesians 2:4-5). But what about our forgiving others? What about those who don’t deserve to be forgiven?
We don’t usually like to think about that. After all, things should be fair and people should pay for what they’ve done. The only thing is, we could never pay the penalty for our sin for it is death (Romans 6:23). We certainly never got what was fair from GOD. We must extend to others what was so freely extended to us (Matthew 6:14-15).The grace of forgiveness. When we forgive we aren’t saying what happened was right or that it does not deserve payment. Our sins were never right and they did deserve death. But as we have been pardoned so we must pardon others. To forgive frees us and allows GOD to deal with the other person~ in His way and in His time.
Quite honestly, sometimes I don’t feel like forgiving but I do want the clean heart and the relief I experience when I forgive and hand it all over to the LORD. When I hold on to it nothing good is accomplished because unforgiveness, bitterness, and resentment are cruel taskmasters. Jesus said He is the Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14:6). To have the Abundant Life (John 10:10) we desire we must do things His Way and follow His Truth. He explains it well in
Matthew 18:21-35:
21 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?”
22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.[a]
23 “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold[b] was brought to him. 25 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.
26 “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ 27 The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.
28 “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins.[c] He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.
29 “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’
30 “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.
32 “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ 34 In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”
Some may say, “I have forgiven but the feelings of resentment and bitterness are still there.” Remember, forgiveness is a willful decision we make. It will sometimes take our feelings a little while to come into agreement with our willful decision. As we continue to affirm our decision and also ask the LORD to work the forgiveness out in our hearts our feelings will begin to line up with the decision we have made. We can’t force ourselves to feel one way or the other. We can’t change our heart~ our part is to agree to walk in forgiveness and allow the LORD to do what only He can do. As we stand firm in our decision to forgive, refusing to think on the offence, talk about the offence and confirming our forgiveness then when the offence comes to mind the pain will begin to lessen. Our feelings will begin to shift from anger, resentment, and bitterness to compassion and a desire to pray for those who sinned against us.
Coffee With the King 