Forgiveness
As Christians, when we think of forgiveness, we often think about all the ways we are gracefully and mercifully forgiven by our Savior. We are so undeserving and yet He forgives all the ways we mess up, on the day-to-day basis. Praise God, right? Without His sacrifice and endless mercy, we would not have the chance for eternal salvation.
The forgiveness I want to talk about though, is how we forgive others. The same forgiveness and mercy Jesus gave us is what we should strive to give to others in our lives. We should be modeling ourselves after the life that Jesus led while here on this earth. He set the example for us.
Matthew 18:21-22 says this: “Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.”
Jesus goes on to tell the parable of the unforgiving servant. The servant whose lord forgave him ten thousand talents (equivalent to several million dollars) then went and tortured another man that only owed him a hundred denarii (approximately sixteen cents). The man that was forgiven much did not extend that same grace to another man that owed him little. The lesson Jesus wants us to get from this parable is that He has forgiven us and we are to forgive each other.
Ephesians 4:31-32 tells us: “Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.”
Sometimes in our lives though, wounds run deep. People hurt us and cause pain and damage that is seemingly beyond repair. We can slip into despair and wondering if we can ever experience joy again. We can even begin to think, does God even see me? Has He forgotten about me? Why does He keep letting these horrible things happen to me? Friends, I am not ashamed to say, I’ve been there a time or two in my life as well. He hasn’t left your side.
It can seem unimaginable or impossible to forgive the person or people that caused such deep wounds and pain our lives. It may be parents, a spouse, children, friends or your church that hurt you. It always seems to be the people closest to us, doesn’t it? It’s the places where we should feel safe to be vulnerable, where we end up getting hurt. Then, the unfortunate result of sharing our woes with trusted friends can often result in them withdrawing; making us feel even worse, more isolated and unworthy.
When we are so deeply hurt and we feel that we are unable to extend that grace, we need to call on the Lord to help us do what He would have us to do. Pray and seek Him for the strength to extend grace where our humanness just can’t. I often see a saying on social media that reads, “Holding onto anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.” That unforgiveness in our hearts is toxic for us and our health. The Holy Spirit within us is capable of accomplishing what we are unable to do in our own will. We just have to surrender to Him.
Maybe you are the one that has hurt others. We all do, at some point. Maybe you have regrets that haunt you and you can’t seem to get past them. God already forgave you. He handled that at the cross.
One thing I want to leave you with is… sin is sin. God doesn’t consider one sin greater than another. We, as humans measure it and think some sins are much worse than others, but He doesn’t it see it that way. We need to take the plank out of our own eye before we focus on the speck in someone else’s eye. (Matthew 7:4).
We never know what battles people are having to endure behind the smile you see on the outside. Let’s extend grace to those around us and care for others the way Jesus would have us to do.
*Amy de Graaff is the Listener Engagement Specialist with The JOY FM. She and her husband reside in Newnan. She is a child of God, animal lover, adventure seeker and crafter. You can reach her at: Amy.deGraaff@TheJOYFM.com