5-26-2019

 Good Morning All,

      Matthew 18: 21-22; “Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?”  Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.”

   It is a common and frequent topic, forgiveness and what it means and how we apply it.  Many Christians really struggle with forgiveness.  The pain they feel is deep; the sorrow is strong and it can be hard to let go.  The truly sad thing is that many Christians think they have forgiven the other person but they really haven’t.  I talk to a man occasionally; he always tells me about his ex-wife.  He tells me how she cheated on him and broke their marriage.  He claims that he has forgiven her but she is always the topic of conversation.

    Other times, people want to forgive but are unsure of what it means.  Some have been told to “forgive and forget” but the pain was too great and they can’t forget.  It is an old battle; we know we are to forgive but it is a struggle sometimes.

    There is a reformed Christian author/psychologist named Jay Adams who writes this about forgiveness.  “When a person forgives another, he is promising to do three things about the intended wrongdoing: not to use it against the wrongdoer in the future; not to talk about it to others; and not to dwell on it himself.”  I think for many of us; this is a very workable model to try and view what forgiveness means.

    First and foremost, forgiveness is letting go of the debt.  In many ways, the Bible uses the idea of being in debt as a way to look at forgiveness.  If you were to punch me; I am “owed” one time to punch you.  Forgiveness means I do not collect the debt and it means that I don’t hold this over you.  I don’t keep reminding you that I forgave you.

    Secondly, we must not keep talking about it with others.  We must truly let it go.  It is the past and it should stay there.  To keep dredging it up means to involve others into the “forgiven” event.  This only stirs more pain and sorrow for all involved. 

    Thirdly, we cannot dwell on it.  As we dwell on it; we keep the wound open and the pain there.  To keep it alive in our hearts and minds means there is no real forgiveness.  We need to forgive, even if the person we forgive does not ask.  Forgiveness is about healing.  First and foremost, it heals our own heart then it attempts to rebuild a broken relationship.  That is why Jesus came, to bring us forgiveness so that we may live a life of forgiving to bring about healing.  It might take many tries at forgiveness.  It might take years to truly accomplish it but God calls upon us to forgive.  We forgive because we are forgiven and in forgiveness we have healing.

Father, cause my heart to forgive.  Lead me to the paths of focusing on your grace and not the petty pain of this world.  Bring about healing and comfort to all in need.  In the precious name of Jesus, we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,
Pastor Bret