Our Capacity to Forgive Grows From Our Understanding of How Much God Has Forgiven Us
OPENING PRAYER:
Heavenly Father, I am in awe of your presence. Whatever is noble, right, pure, and lovely help me think on these things. Amen
Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. Colossians 3:13 (NIV)
REFLECT:
Our patience and forgiveness towards one another should reflect God’s gracious patience and generous forgiveness towards us. God’s patience and forgiveness is full, free, and forever. We are to reflect and follow the pattern Christ set when he graciously forgave us.
Bearing with another is to patiently endure the faults and failings of others in a kind, gracious and Godly manner. It’s putting up with the inevitable idiosyncrasies and changing attitudes of others with a spirit of gentleness and grace. We are to forgive one another generously, unhesitatingly, and without holding a grudge.
The greatest incentive towards forgiveness of others is in the truth that God forgave us freely and forever. He forgave our sin – past, present, and future. He forgave each one of us all our wrongdoing and we, in turn, are to follow His example. God has promised that He will remember our sins no more. As far as the east is from the west, He has removed our sin. In turn, we should reflect His grace by bearing with one another, forgiving each other, and demonstrate His mercy towards anyone who has a complaint against us. Just as the Lord forgave us, we should also forgive.
APPLY:
“Forgiveness is not an occasional act, it is a constant attitude.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
“Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it.” – Mark Twain
“To err is human, to forgive, divine.” – Alexander Pope
There’s much to be said about forgiveness; scriptures to read; many quotes to hang in our offices or on the front of our refrigerators; and when all is said and done, how do you know if you have truly forgiven?
Forgiveness is not an option for believers of Christ. We can justify it in any way we wish, “I’ve forgiven him, but he hasn’t changed;” or “the hurt I’ve experienced is unforgiveable;” or “I can’t forgive what I can’t forget.”
The answer to these and other such statements is the same, “You are expected to forgive.”
As written in today’s verse from Colossians and in the book of Mark 11:25, “And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”
What does forgiveness look like in everyday life?
Forgiveness is dropping the right you feel that you must get even with others. When thoughts of this person come to mind, force those thoughts to be positive and not about the hurt they have inflicted on you. Come to the point that you know in your heart, if that person was in trouble and you could help them, you would.
Forgiveness doesn’t seek to get even with anyone. It wishes those who have harmed us, good. It longs to see them change, and it believes they can change. It desires the best possible life for him or her. It stops looking for them to fail.
Forgiveness is hard but is nothing compared to the suffering of Christ on the cross for the forgiveness of all.
“To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.” – C.S. Lewis
CLOSING PRAYER:
Heavenly Father, thank you that I have been forgiven and declared by faith to be your child. I know I have not always been ready and willing to forgive others who have hurt or wronged me, and may I increasingly show patience and forgiveness toward them. Develop in me a spirit of gentleness that shows the love of Christ to others. Amen.
WORSHIP: