Forgiving Others

Scripture:  Ephesians 4:30-32 – And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: 32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

Matthew 6:12 - And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

Proverbs 4:23 – Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life.

We all like to give ourselves gifts!  An excellent /beneficial gift to give yourself is to forgiver others!  Say what?   You will have everything to gain, and nothing to lose.  Forgiving is a commandment – not an option, and we must forgive from the heart (Proverbs 4:23), unconditionally, and continually.

In the parable of the unforgiving servant, Peter asked the Lord  how many times should he forgive his brother/sister who sins against him?  He thought he should forgive someone seven times.  Jesus replied 70 times seven (Matthew 18:21-35).  Therefore, love doesn’t keep a record of offenses (I Corinthians 13). When we keep records of wrongs, we will become bitter – which is what the enemy wants us to do so that he can have a foot hole in our lives.  

Without a personal relationship with the Lord, we couldn’t forgive as Christ has forgiven us. When we forgive, we shouldn’t worry about how someone responds to us.  Also, we have to see people through the lens of grace/mercy.  Think about why a person has offended you.  Maybe it is because of how that person has been offended by others.  Pray for those who have offended you.  

There is so much freedom when we forgive others!  Unforgiveness leads to bitterness.  When we forgive others, we are freed from grieving the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:30).  When someone offends you and you truly forgive that person,  you might think about that situation, but the intense pain you once felt will eventually subside.  You will have peace.  I can relate to that.  No one wants to be in bondage to someone who has offended them.  You will have less stress when you forgive others.  The fellowship that you had with that person may be different, but at least you will have peace. When you don’t forgive a person, it certainly destroys your testimony. It also affects your prayer life, and how the Lord will bless you. Unforgiveness within a church definitely affects a church’s spiritual growth. Furthermore, when you don’t forgive someone, that person becomes your god – the one who controls you.  Your Lord and Savior  Jesus the Christ should always be the one who moves, controls, and directs you.

Our desire is to be like Christ.  Luke 23:33 says “And when they come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand and the other on the left.  Then said Jesus, Father forgive them; for they know not what they do.”  

Prayer:  Dear Heavenly Father:  Thank You for forgiving me.  Help me to forgive others.  You have set the perfect example of forgiveness when You forgave me of my sins, and you have given me what I need to forgive others.  All this I pray in Jesus’ name.  Amen.

(by Marsha Williams)