Forgiveness
Forgiving others is without a doubt, one of the hardest things that God has asked us to do. “But, you don’t know what they did to me”, quite often is our response. However forgiving them, brings healing to us, which we cannot receive in any other way except forgiving them. Withholding forgiveness doesn’t hurt them in anyway, only ourselves. The healing is for us, not for them. Most of the time they don’t even know that we are angry at them.
The question is, healing from what? When we refuse to forgive others, it can bring bitterness towards them in our lives. It can bring anguish of our soul into us. The anger that we feel towards them can and will consume us and at times it can take over our thoughts, especially when we think of that individual. Sometimes the wrath that we are seething in, will start manifesting towards other people that we do not have a grievance towards. It just seems to be taking over our life. People that we love can do or say something, and we’ll just snap at them and then wonder why we did that.
Do you want to be free of that? Of course you do, and God can set you free if you will let Him. But we must do it His way. What is His way? Its to forgive them completely of the wrong that we know or feel they have done to us. Yes, it is hard, but that is what God wants from us. Do you want to please God? Peter asked this question of Jesus in Matthew chapter 18.
Matthew 18:21-22 (ESV) (Please read the whole chapter)
21. Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” 22. Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.
Jesus did not say to Peter, “depends on what they do or did”. Jesus just said forgive them 77 times. What was Jesus saying when He said 77 times. He was saying forgive, no matter how many times you have to, do not hold a grudge, let it go. God knows what they did and He is able to take care of the situation, as long as you will let it go and let Him deal with it. Put it in His hands, since He is all knowing He will take care of it in His time.
We must remember what God forgave us of, every sin we have done, past, present, and future. What we have done to God is far greater then what this person or people have done to us. But if we have asked God for His forgiveness, He has forgiveness us. Now He tells us to forgive others and if we don’t forgive others that’s where the trouble starts in our innermost selves. Jesus deals with this in a parable that we find in Matthew chapter 18. This parable shows without a doubt, that we must forgive all who sin against us.
Mathew 18:23-34 (KJV) (Please read the whole chapter)
23. Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants.
24. And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents.
25. But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.
26. The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.
27. Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.
28. But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest.
29. And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.
30. And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.
31. So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done.
32. Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me:
33. Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?
34. And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.
35. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.
In this parable, the king would be a representation of God, forgiving us of everything that we have done or will ever do against Him on this earth. And then Jesus goes on and says that people who refuse to forgive others will be delivered over to the “tormentors” until they pay all that is “due”.
Here’s the question, what are the “tormentors” and what is the payment that is “due”? What is “due” is simple, we must forgive them of what they have done to us. Not to be like the person in verses 28-30 that did not forgive and was turned over to the “tormentors” till he paid the debt that was “due”, which was to forgive the other person his debt.
The “tormentors” that Jesus is speaking of is a little more complicated, but it comes down to this. When we hold unforgiveness in our hearts towards someone. Bitterness, anger, wrath, rage, discontentment, and a few other negative emotions take control of us. Our peace leaves us, that peace that Jesus gives us. And until we forgive this person or persons, these “negative feelings” will continuously disturb and plague us. We must check ourselves out to see if any of these bad feelings are haunting or tormenting us. If they are, just ask yourself, do I need to forgive somebody of something they have done to me. If so, forgive them, and forgive them as many times as it takes to gain your peace back. Is it easy, no it isn’t, but it’s what God wants us to do and He will help us.
Do you think it was easy for God to send Jesus, His Son, to die for the sins of the whole world? So let’s follow what God wants, so that we can live a peaceful life inside ourselves, and have the peace that Jesus gave us rule our lives in this world. Just pray like this,
“Heavenly Father, I ask for You to help me to forgive this person (name them). I can’t do it on my own. I ask for Your help and I forgive them in Jesus name and I ask You to bless them”.
Do it a hundred times if that’s what it takes, if when you think about them and it still brings up bad feelings towards them, pray again. The devil wants you to stay in bondage to this torment but God wants you to be set free.
The only way to get rid of those negative feelings is to forgive this person or persons. These negative feelings are the “tormentors” of verse 34 above that will stay with us, robbing us of our peace, until we pay what is “due”, which is “forgiving”them.
God forgive us so much and He expects us to be like Him and forgive others. One day, every one of us will stand in judgment, and He will take care of everything at that time and make all things right. It cost God His Son, Jesus, to give us forgiveness. We can never match that. He just wants us to forgive others now, like He has done and be set free.
This parable in Matthew chapter 18, is not about rather we go to heaven or hell, it’s about our “peace” in this world and following what God wants from us as His children. He asks His children to be like Him in this world. There would be a lot more peace in the churches if we would do as God has instructed us in His word. Jesus asked us to love one another as He loved us and part of that is forgiving each other.