I invite you to read Matthew 18:23-35….it’s certainly speaks volumes!! After Peter asks Jesus how often he should forgive someone who sins against him, Jesus tells the story of a servant whose massive debt is forgiven by the king, but who refuses to forgive a smaller debt owed to him and is tortured for it. The celestial implication of this parable is that God will forgive all sins, and you should too!
A hallmark of the Christian journey is the commitment to become a forgiving person, not just one offense, but as an essential virtue with you all the time. Forgiveness is one of the main themes of Jesus’ teaching and example. As he breathed his last on the cross, He prayed, “Forgive them, they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34)
In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus taught us to pray “forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Essentially, the prayer asks, “God forgive me, but only to the extent that I am forgiving of others.”
As mentioned above, just before Jesus tells this profound parable, in verse 22 He answered Peter’s question regarding how many times to forgive others by saying this; “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times!”😳
Forgiveness is swallowing when you’d rather spit and it is about letting it go and deciding not to retaliate—to quit ruminating on revenge fantasies. It’s about finding a healthy way to deal with your anger so that it doesn’t consume you. Forgiveness is about focusing on more positive things for yourself by stepping out of the cycle of always feeling like you need to strike back to prove your strength which only leads them to strike back and so on.
Gandhi said, “An eye for an eye world will soon go blind.” Jesus said, “You have heard it said an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, but I say to you repay no one evil for evil, instead repay evil with good.”
My brothers and sisters, I get it.. forgiveness is one of those roads that is difficult to travel, easier said than done, you won’t always get it right, but you don’t have to let it eat you up! I strongly advise that before you entered into 2022 let it go, forgive the debt(s), and remember forgiveness opens the door to your own freedom from the past!
The best gift you can ever give yourself and someone else is forgiveness…..
4GIVEN 