Forgiveness

Matthew 6

14 “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. 15 But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.”

Forgiveness is the most difficult attitude for us humans to truly attain. I firmly believe this. We like to hold grudges. We wallow in our pride and refuse to forgive when we have been wronged. Families are torn apart, friendships destroyed, faith is abandoned. Yes, Jesus Himself says that we will receive the same amount of forgiveness from God the Father that we give out to the people in our lives. I know that as a sinner in need of Grace, I have no right to be unforgiving towards anyone who has sinned against me (or my family, or my friends, or my Lord). Help me, O God to be a forgiving follower of Jesus every day of my life.

Forgiveness

Proverbs 25

21 If your enemies are hungry, give them food to eat.
      If they are thirsty, give them water to drink.
 22 You will heap burning coals of shame on their heads,
      and the Lord will reward you.

This wisdom from the proverbs comes up in the Gospels when Jesus reminds His followers to love their enemies, and treat others with respect and dignity always. I still struggle with this one, and today I ask that God will help me to be more loving even of those who choose not to love in return. Especially those who do not treat my babies in a loving manner. Yeah, I am still struggling with that one, and I ask for God’s forgiveness as I forgive those whom I need to forgive.

Forgiveness

Matthew 6

14 “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. 15 But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.”

I think this is the hardest saying of Jesus recorded in the Scripture. Forgiveness does not come easy to me. I have chronicled my struggle with forgiveness in this devotional blog before. I want to make sure that I am on the right road when it comes to forgiving others, and I want to forgive without conditions, because I want God to forgive me without conditions. I also do not want to allow someone to take advantage of me (or of my family) because I was naïve I don’t think Jesus wants us to be naïve, but we must be forgiving. I hope that I am doing better in that department. I am trying.

Forgiveness

Matthew 5

14 “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. 15 But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.”

Forgiveness is the key. The question I wrestle with is: does forgiveness include giving trust back to the one who has wronged you? Trust has to be earned. I can forgive, but I tend to be an at-arms-length kind of guy to those who have broken trust. Again, especially regarding a family situation and the untold financial and emotional damage done to my Dad. I pray every day to have the forgiveness of God in my heart towards those who not only have wronged me, but especially to those who have wronged my Dad. Please pray for me in this regard as well.