SATURDAY JANUARY 29, 2011

Read Colossians 3:13 and Ephesians 4:32

How Must I Forgive?

Colossians 3:13

• Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

Ephesians 4:32.

• Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

These two verses make it clear that we are to strive for the same standard of forgiveness that God has given us. This standard is outlined in pages 1-4. Nothing less is acceptable in the Lord’s eyes.

But be wary of Luke 7:47. In Luke 7:40-50 Jesus shows through the prostitute who touches Him that our level of forgiveness for others mirrors how much we understand our own forgiveness by the Lord.

• “Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven--for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.”

Thus the person who finds it hard to forgive another may need to grow in their understanding and appreciation of the Lord’s forgiveness of him/herself. They need to realise some startling and often hard to accept truths:-

• My sin against God is greater than any other person’s sin against me. (Matthew 18:22-35).


• My own sin drove Jesus to the cross to be cruelly punished and to be separated from His Father (see all the gospel accounts of the death of Christ). My sin caused Jesus more pain than anyone’s sin has caused me (1 Peter 3:18, 1 John 4:10).


• If God can forgive me the greater debt, then I can forgive others the lesser debt.


• God’s grace is far greater than my hurts, my anger, my bitterness etc. God’s grace can change me from the inside out.

Conclusion:

Forgiveness is a complicated and sensitive matter. It is so primarily because when we are sinned against, we are hurt to the core of our being. Forgiveness reaches in and touches both our core and the other person’s with genuine love and acceptance. It is often a painful process involving both the sinner and the one sinned against and even the whole church.

The bottom line of forgiveness is the grace and mercy that has been poured out to you by the Lord Himself. As you understand more and more of His love and grace to you personally you will be quick to repent and quick to forgive (in the full sense of the word). In this sense, forgiveness is not merely a process or a decision but a reflection of Christ’s own love for you. How well or how poorly you reflect Christ’s love and forgiveness depends on how much you appreciate and appropriate it in your own life.