Forgiving : Forgive As You Are Forgiven

"Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors." Matthew 6:12

An unforgiving Christian is a contradiction in terms.

Here Jesus measures us by the yardstick we use on others. Jesus did not say forgive us because we forgive others but forgive us as we forgive others .... which is very different. Truth is, unfortunately, that some Christians do hold grudges and do not freely forgive. It's one of the reasons that the world turns away from us and from the Lord Jesus.

It is possible to confess your sins yet not know the joy of forgiveness. Why? .... because we fail to forgive others. We have been forgiven .... forgiven an immeasurable debt .... He saves us from the terrors of hell .... yet we do not forgive. Paul says in his lovely Ephesian epistle "Be kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another as God in Christ has also forgiven you". (Ephesians 4:2).

We ought always to freely forgive. Is there someone you cannot forgive? Here is some advice. Confess it to the Lord and ask Him to mend the broken relationship. Then, go to the one who you seem unable to forgive and ask their forgiveness and seek to be reconciled .... you might be surprised at the result!

It could well be that the person feels as you do. Then, give a gift to the one who has wronged you. There is a wonderful joy in forgiving.

Never let a grudge stand between you and another person for it will rob you of the full joy of God's forgiveness. Remember the story of the servant in the parable who, though forgiven a tremendous debt, did not forgive a much lesser one.