Christian Counseling Service -- Devotions

Forgiveness

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Matthew 18:21-22, 32-35
Peter approached Jesus and asked him, "Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?"

Jesus answered, "I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times ...

""You wicked servant! I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to. Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?' Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturers until he should pay back the whole debt.

"So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each of you forgives your brother from your heart."

Why does God emphasize forgiveness so much? In the Lord's Prayer Jesus tells us to ask for daily bread and daily forgiveness, and he insists we do as much forgiving as God does.

Paul writes to his friends:

...As God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. (Colossians 3:12-13)

Paul had a fiery temper and strong will. What did he do with his own anger and frustration and sense of betrayal? No doubt he had trouble following his own instructions.

Bitterness has so many consequences in our lives. Loss of sleep, depression, colitis and high blood pressure are just a few. It is hard to enjoy life. "When the waiter serves me Porterhouse steak, it might as well be stale bread and water. My teeth chew the food, and I swallow it, but the man I hate will not permit me to enjoy its taste" (None of these Diseases, by S.I. McMillen, MD).

I'm not the only one badly hurt by my refusal to forgive. My anger toward one person is often taken out on others, usually the ones closest and most important to me. My relationships wither. Whatever good I might have been to someone else is lost in the fog of my own pain.

Why do I think I can be so self-righteous? God's point of view is vastly different. Mellowed in his older years perhaps, Jesus' disciple John wrote:

This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. (1 John 4:10-12)

Many are hurt when I don't forgive; but more importantly, so many are blessed when I do. God, especially, is blessed. Just as he wants me to focus on him in every other part of life, he's telling me to focus on him when I'm angry and growing bitter. He'll remind me of my own failures, sure, but most of all he'll assure me how much he still loves me.

So, of course, I can still love you.

Let bygones be gone, Lord. I want forgiveness to be a cornerstone of my everyday life. Thank you for walking with me while I learn.

Devotions Archive

Forgiveness

Tuesday, February 26, 2008