‘for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God’ Romans 3:23
Out of all the commands found in scripture forgiveness seems the hardest of them all to even contemplate especially if we have been sinned against.
Father God takes sin seriously so much so that all sin must be paid for, all sin on the day of judgement will be destroyed. Sin is not part of God’s eternal plan and whether we like it or not sin is part and parcel of human nature.
As a follower of Jesus, we are told to pray for the forgiveness of those who sin against us. This completely goes against our human instinct after all I need compensation for my suffering at the hands of another, I need retribution for the harm caused to me not only physically but emotionally too.
In Matthew Chapter 6 where we find the Lord’s prayer, we are told that our condition of forgiveness is judged through whether we have a heart willing to forgive. Why would God set such a high expectation? Surely that’s unfair! Jesus wants us to understand that as his followers we have already considered Christ’s death as the only payment possible for our own sin therefore first and foremost we should have recognised and understood the depth of the depravity of our own sin.
That it is my sin against God that required Jesus to come from heaven to earth to die on the cross.
Our human instinct causes us to point the finger at the sin of others, we are less likely to be willing to see the true depravity, the full horror of our own sin. We instinctively under play our own part towards the darkness of sin, the danger of this is that we can end up dwelling in the place of self-pity which is what ultimately ends up destroying us rather than being destroyed by the one who sinned against us.
The beauty and joy of Christ’s forgiveness towards all brings us the freedom to live offering loving kindness to all.
Forgiveness isn’t forgetting what was done towards us but bringing all sin to the cross of Christ, the place of judgement against all sin. Forgiveness towards others is accepting that we are not the judge who has the right to bring righteous punishment but as we forgive, we are saying to God ‘I trust you to judge well, I trust you to do the right thing, please heal my hurt’.
We don’t forgive because the person is worth forgiving, we forgive because we have been forgiven. We don’t forget but we bring our memory to Christ again and again until the demand for justice subsides because we have confidence that God is the perfect judge.
The fruit of hate is bitterness, the heart of bitterness destroys us not the one who sinned against us.
The fruit of Jesus is love and what does this love bring? Joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
As we grapple from the hurt of sin from others let it cause us to remember the hurt and offence our own sin has caused the heart of God, it causes him no less pain but instead of hitting out he moves towards us and offers us the solution to our own sinful instincts…..the sacrifice of his one and only Son, Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Let us pray for hearts that not only want to be forgiven but want Jesus’ power through the Holy Spirit, to forgive those who sin against us.
Disclaimer……being sinned against needs careful and considerate counselling and prayerful support particularly when dealing with domestic abuse. If you are being abused or have been abused please seek professional prayerful help…..do not suffer in silence.
And if you are an abuser, you know no matter how many times you promise to change you just can’t, please seek professional prayerful help…..today is the day you can deal with the sin within rather than make others suffer for the bitterness hidden away inside.
Living His Word 