Forgiveness is a huge part of our lives as Christians. We enjoy God’s unmerited forgiveness for our sins (1 John 1:9). It is in the very nature of God to forgive (Ps. 130:3-4), so forgiveness is a righteous act. We should emulate God in this.
Jesus’ death on the cross, the shedding of Christ’s blood, was the payment so we could be forgiven (Mat. 26:28). So, forgiveness is important to God. In an earlier post, we looked at sin and how sin is anything which does not align with God’s nature. Since that’s true, not to forgive others would be sin. And that’s where the real problem lays, doesn’t it?
Some of us have had things done to us which are difficult to forgive. Maybe we’ve been abused, spat on, treated unjustly, and so on. God doesn’t seem to care about the scale of what has been done to us, He wants to forgive that person. Col. 3:12-13 says we are to forgive one another. You just can’t forgive that one offender? Too bad. It’s God’s instruction to the Christian.
And if you think this is just an instruction for us to forgive only brothers and sisters in Christ or only those who seek forgiveness, Heb. 12:14-15 says one of the reasons we should forgive others is for our sakes, not just for the other person’s or to satisfy God. This passage says bitterness will arise in us if we fail to forgive others. We are to extend God’s grace to all, ALL, who have offended us. That arrogant relative who has been belittling you since childhood, that guy at the office who continues to show you in a bad light, even the guy who cuts you off on the freeway, all these are to be forgiven.
There is a difference between forgiven and forgotten, however. If you were abused as a child by a relative, for instance, forgiveness of that relative does not mean you should leave your children alone with him. God isn’t saying that. After all, we are to be as wise as serpents (Mat. 10:16), not crazy.
Lastly, I’d like to point out one of the most frightening passages of Scripture for us who find it difficult to forgive some folks. In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus tells us to ask God to forgive us just as we are forgiven. Some of us can twist that a little into thinking God will forgive us even if we don’t forgive others. But, look at the next two verses following the Lord’s Prayer:
Matthew 6:14-15 (ESV)
14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you,
15 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Verse 14 should thrill us, but verse 15 should scare the tar out of us all.
It is our obligation as Christians to forgive others. Some we can forgive immediately. Those are the easy ones. But God wants us to forgive the difficult ones as well. I’ve found forgiveness sometimes takes years. There’s only one way to accomplish forgiveness for those difficult folks, seek God’s help, and start today.
Believers Armed and Dangerous 