On the Effect of Forgiving

Matthew 6:9-15 AMP  ⁹ Pray, then, in this way:

‘Our Father, who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.  ¹⁰  Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.  ¹¹ Give us this day our daily bread.  ¹² And forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven our debtors [letting go of both the wrong and the resentment].  ¹³ And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.]’

¹⁴ For if you forgive others their trespasses [their reckless and willful sins], your heavenly Father will also forgive you. ¹⁵ But if you do not forgive others [nurturing your hurt and anger with the result that it interferes with your relationship with God], then your Father will not forgive your trespasses.

Observation

We memorize verses 9-13 above at a very young age.  This is Jesus teaching His disciples how to pray simply and effectively.  How very rarely we include in that memorization the 2 verses following this familiar passage. We need to take note that some version of the word “forgive” (e.g., forgiven, forgiveness) appears 40 times in the Gospels.  As Messiah, Jesus lived and died for forgiveness and salvation to flow into and out of us freely.  According to Jesus, the unwillingness to forgive leads to “nurturing your hurt and anger with the result that it interferes with your relationship with God.” This results in leaving our own sins unforgiven. Jesus is not asking us to forgive only because it will release someone else.  He is asking us to forgive because ultimately it releases, frees and heals us. 

Jesus’ meaning of verses 14-15 are expanded by Him in the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant (Matthew 18).  The servant who was forgiven much and released from his debt proceeded to unmercifully turn with unforgiveness on his own debtor who owed little.  This story tells us that his lack of gratitude and withholding of mercy was noticed and ended up with his huge debt being reinstated.  The Bible Point of this story is Matthew 6:14-15!   This does not mean that we condone sin.  Absolutely not!  It does mean that we approach and deal with sin in love with healed hearts because we have forgiven and released the hurt.

Impact on Me

Forgiving others is often not easy.  It can be easier when I believe the injury was accidental or caused by a misinterpretation or when the person is expressing regret or sorrow over the hurt.  However, when I am hurt or embarrassed or shamed by another who is not asking for forgiveness or caring about the injury to me – in other words, “their reckless and willful sins” which make them not innocent in my sight – this is a different matter.  That voice inside that wants to lead me astray will say, “They don’t deserve to be forgiven!” or “Teach them a lesson by hurting them back!” or “It is your right to hold a grudge.”  But, I believe that leads to “nurturing your hurt and anger with the result that it interferes with your relationship with God.”

I have had many opportunities in my life to withhold forgiveness – times when I was unjustly accused or a target of anger or otherwise hurt, embarrassed or shamed.  The Holy Spirit made me aware in these times that Jesus did not qualify forgiving with “for those who deserve it”.  The servant who owed much did not deserve to have his debt forgiven.  It was because he would not be merciful and forgiving in gratitude for his release that his debt returned upon him.  Don’t I have the same choice?  I gladly receive the salvation and forgiveness provided by Jesus on the Cross – given when I did not deserve it because of my reckless and willful sins.  How can I be selfish with mercy and forgiveness for others in that same place when He was so generous with me?    

Prayer

Lord God, Everlasting Father, Redeemer, Teacher, Lover of my soul, the only inside voice I want to hear is Yours.  When I want to be selfish with mercy, grace and forgiveness, remind me of my filthy condition when I first came to embrace Your salvation.  Help me to see past the ugliness that is the evidence of a soul in anguish because it has not yet embraced You.  May Your love, grace, mercy and forgiveness be my story and the epitaph of my life.  Make it so, in Jesus’ name.