This petition in
The Lord’s Prayer, given to us by Jesus Himself, has a qualifier in it, the
only one that does. Jesus is telling us in no uncertain terms that God will
forgive us “as” we forgive others. Plain and simple: this is not hard to
understand. We cannot hold back forgiveness, continue to punish others for
actual or perceived wrongs, stand in judgment of others and declare them
unworthy of our forgiveness, or continue to exact payment for wrongs once the
offenders have said they are sorry unless we want God to do this to us when we
die. Our offenses against God, every day of our lives, are horrible when we
realize that God is pure love, and we are not. It is like mixing pure white
snow with snow from the street. One is so beautiful, the other, well, not so
much. If we honestly feel justified in withholding forgiveness and love from
someone who we believe has offended us, then let us meditate on the Scripture
passages below. It doesn’t get any clearer than this. We will continue our
meditation tomorrow.
In answer to the question: Is it that important to forgive
even if I believe I have been seriously wronged, meditate on Jesus’ words:
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.
Matthew 18:34-35: In
anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should
pay back all he owed. “This is how
my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or
sister from your heart.” (parable of the servant who was forgiven a large
debt by his master, but refused to forgive a small debt owed to him)
Matthew 18:21-22: 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?” Jesus answered, “I
tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.”
Matthew 26:28:
This
is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness
of sins.
Mark 11:25:
And when you stand praying, if you
hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so
that your Father in heaven may forgive you
your sins.
Luke 6:37:
Do not judge, and you will not be
judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive,
and you will be forgiven.
Luke 7:41-44: Two people owed money
to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other
fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back,
so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the
bigger debt forgiven.” “You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.
Luke 7:47:
Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great
love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven
little loves little.
Luke 17:3:
So watch yourselves. If your brother
or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them.
Luke 17:4:
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.”
Luke 23:34:
Jesus said, “Father, forgive them,
for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes
by casting lots.
Prayer for the
grace to forgive:
Dear Lord, I come
to you with a heart that is heavy with resentment. The hurt I carry with me is
taking its toll… slowly closing the door of my heart to love. I have been
unjustly hurt and I don’t want to forgive, yet, I beg you to grant me the grace
to forgive the one who has hurt me, even though the very thought of doing so is
painful to me.
Turn my eyes now to you
and show me your wounds. Show me your bloody face. Show me your torn flesh.
Help me to always remember that you are the True Victim who was suffered the
most unjust hurt ever know to humankind. Give me the grace to be sorrowful for
my sins that nailed you to the cross and whisper in my ear your loving words,
“Father forgive them for they know not what they do.” With your tenderness, O
Lord, I know my heart will melt and be filled with your love, that I may
forgive my offender. Amen.
But
I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you (Matthew 5:44)
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