Forgive
Forgive
Enjoying the fire in the fireplace I picked up my Bible and started browsing, looking at verses that in the past I’ve highlighted. I am considering which one is encouragement or direction for me today. It didn’t take long. The Lord’s Prayer stood out to me. I enjoy that prayer specifically. I’ve written articles on it but today there was a portion of that prayer that was for this day.
“Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”
Matthew 6:12
A new situation came up with a person I had forgiven long ago. I found myself resentful and angry at the concept set before me by this same person. I was able to tamp it down for a day or so but it simmered below the surface. Poke me in the arm and it would rise with alarming speed. It affected and infected topics and people that had nothing to do with this person.
Today being drawn to Matthew 6, I found the Lord’s Prayer was God’s nudge to me. Guard your heart! Don’t allow the enemy of your heart to slide in the back door and start stealing, nibbling away at your strength and peace.
Don’t give Satan the power he needs to defeat you from the inside out. “So quickly Lord, I come again and ask Your forgiveness for both of us. The one that is attacking me and my unforgiveness of them.” I found the verse compelling particularly after I read the commentary regarding forgiveness. Listen to a portion of the text:
“If we refuse to forgive others, God will also refuse to forgive us. Why? Because when we don’t forgive others, we’re denying our common ground as sinners in need of God’s forgiveness. God’s forgiveness of sin is not a direct result of our forgiving others but it is based on our realizing what forgiveness means.”
This statement brought an understanding from years ago I had gained from a counselor regarding forgiving myself. The conversation went a bit like this:
“Put on the ‘whiteboard’ the order of people or things in your life ranked by importance.
God, myself, my daughter, my work…” The counselor said, “You’re lying. Don’t you say you’re a Christian?” Yes, I replied.
“Don’t you say that Jesus died for your sins?” Yes, again was my answer.
Then put your name above God’s until you forgive yourself. By your non-forgiveness, you are saying you’ve been hurt more than God. You would require more than God required atoning for your wrongs.”
In essence, I was putting myself above God.
In pairing that understanding with the commentator’s point, “when we don’t forgive we’re denying our common ground as sinners” it brings new light and clarity to the whole topic. Ah ha! The lightbulb went off! Forgiveness reminds us that we are not God. It keeps pride and entitlement in their place, under our feet. Forgiveness allows us to stay in right relationship with God because we are acknowledging we are not Him. We are stating unequivocally that although we have been hurt or offended we have not been hurt, rejected, and offended like He was. Nor did we pay any price for the forgiveness for anyone let alone offenders.
Ah ha! The lightbulb went off!
Forgiveness reminds us that we are not God. It keeps pride and entitlement in their place, under our feet. Forgiveness allows us to stay in right relationship with God because we are acknowledging we are not Him. We are stating unequivocally that although we have been hurt or offended we have not been hurt, rejected, and offended like He was. Nor did we pay any price for the forgiveness for anyone let alone offenders.
Forgiveness reminds us that we are not God. It keeps pride and entitlement in their place, under our feet. Forgiveness allows us to stay in right relationship with God because we are acknowledging we are not Him. We are stating unequivocally that although we have been hurt or offended we have not been hurt, rejected, and offended like He was. Nor did we pay any price for the forgiveness for anyone let alone offenders.
But God did.
When we are hurt or offended, if we don’t forgive the other we are playing right into Satan’s hand. We fall into the acrimonious camp of Satan. Where pride, arrogance, animosity, bitterness, and resentment live, breath, and grow like a deadly bacteria in a Petrie dish. That Petrie Dish then becomes our hearts.
Satan wasn’t and isn’t God. He wasn’t the creator – he was the created. But all-in-all Satan’s focus is to steal, kill, and destroy anything he can. Pride extends a hand to unforgiveness and that is a slippery slope. Forgiveness reminds us we are all on the same footing. We all need the same grace, mercy, and forgiveness, regardless of the sin.
The good news: we can’t earn forgiveness we can only accept it and extend the same to those we meet.
Last night we were watching an episode of The Crown. Interestingly it was on forgiveness. Forgiveness of the Queen’s uncle, her fathers’ brother. He was the King that abdicated the crown for love. That is a long story and not all that it appears.
The struggle Queen Elizabeth had was that she found things he had done that were reprehensible. They threatened the very existence of the free people in the United Kingdom during the war and after.
She struggled with forgiveness and then protecting the people. It showed her meeting with Billy Graham and searching for the answer of forgiveness in such a situation. His answer: “When you can’t forgive a person pray for them.” In the end, forgiveness didn’t alter her need to protect the people but forgiveness protected her heart and relationship with God.
Protecting our hearts. That is the key. Not allowing the enemy of our hearts any access. Forgiveness does just that.
It reminds us that all of us have common ground – we all are in need of forgiveness. It reminds us that we are not above God. The price that was paid with His Own Son is sufficient for all sin by all people if they accept it.
The bottom line is that forgiveness is the sentry that stands guard at the door of our heart. Protecting, empowering, and reminding us that the price was already paid in full for all.
