Freely Forgive

The struggles we face as human beings are complex.  Past experiences, personality, mental, physical, and spiritual dynamics converge to create imposing, seemingly impossible problems.  Something God is teaching me which vastly simplifies issues I face is deciding I am going to do things God's way.  There are two basic ways to approach any problem:  we can follow the world's way, or the way God has revealed through scripture.

As we go through this life, stuff clings to us.  We need to change our clothes and wash our hands and bodies with soap.  Even if we avoided dirty things, our skin excretes oil and sweat.  Stress raises our heart rate and physical activity can produce unpleasant odours.  Not a lovely thing to think upon, but it is the truth!  In a similar way to our physical need for cleansing and hygienic maintenance, our life experiences can load us down with cares, worries, and baggage.  We can be beset with sinful thoughts, be overtaken by sinful actions, and become steeped in bitterness and unforgiveness.  The Bible says in 1 John 1:9:  "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."  Through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, we can be forgiven and cleansed from all sin which has enslaved us.

The world makes forgiveness a very complex issue.  For Christians, however, our basis for forgiving others is according to how God has forgiven us.  God has forgiven us at His own expense, as each applies the shed blood of Jesus Christ to our hearts by faith.  He has forgiven us of all sin not because we deserve it, not because we have promised never to sin again in the same way, or because we have become trustworthy:  He forgives us by His grace.  If we struggle with forgiving others, we only need to think of how gracious God has been to forgive us from our sins.  We are not worthy of forgiveness.  But God has freely given us the wondrous gift of forgiveness and reconciliation unto Himself.  As we have freely received, we ought to freely give.

As usual, God puts the onus upon us.  We can never blame anyone else for us not forgiving them.  No matter how vile the transgression, how real the pain, how terrible the offense, Christians are called to forgive.  Our forgiveness is to be without limit.  We should forgive others in our hearts even before they ask for forgiveness.  Sometimes we can be tricked by Satan into thinking that those who have hurt us have not suffered enough for their wrongs and so our refusal to forgive is justified.  We will make them pay!  In doing so we blasphemously claim Jesus did not suffer enough on the cross for sin.  What a wicked charge, that Jesus did not suffer enough or that His sacrifice was unworthy.  We can be reluctant to forgive because of questions like, "What if they do it again?" or "How can I have assurance they really mean it when they apologise?"  Forgiveness requires faith:  faith not in the person who we must forgive, but faith in Jesus.  Though He never did anything wrong, Jesus knows very intimately how it feels to be wronged.

Jesus plainly says in Mark 11:25-26:  "And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. ²⁶ But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses."  If you value God's forgiveness of your sins, then you will forgive others if they sin against you.  When we refuse to forgive, we show how little we value God's forgiveness.  We see Christ's sacrifice and our own sins as being insignificant.  But when our eyes our opened to the enormity of our sins and glory in Christ's gracious sacrifice of love on the cross, forgiveness is a natural response out of love for God.  Even if you don't "feel" like forgiving someone, forgive.  Place your faith in God by doing things His way.  In doing so we experience the fellowship of His suffering as Christ draws us to Himself with arms of love.