11-9-2019

Good Morning All,

Matthew 6:12; “and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors."

    It is what truly defines Christianity yet is probably the most difficult thing for a Christian to do: forgive as we are forgiven.  One of the examples Jesus used to teach this point was the story of the man who was forgiven an astronomical amount of money and yet went out and punished another for owing him a few dollars.  The point being that we have been forgiven so much (everything we do as sinful man is an affront to God and is a sin!) yet the few things our neighbor does to need our forgiveness are so few (sometimes we exaggerate the harm we have received) that there should be no doubt in our mind to forgive our neighbor.  Yet we struggle mightily to forgive; why?

    Sometimes the slights are not so slight.  Painful events during adulthood--death, divorce, marital difficulties, personal illness or injury, job stress or termination, financial difficulties, among other challenges-–are all experiences that can contribute to feelings of bitterness and pain.  This can be especially true when the slights are repeated, maybe daily or more; and we endure the pain, the humiliation and the dismissal of who we are.  Yet even in these situations forgiveness is our best, really our only, option.

   When God tells us to forgive, it can be for the one who forgives as much as the one being forgiven.  When we fail to forgive, bitterness tends to be the fruit of our life and it is a bitterness that we swallow.  It has been said that to withhold forgiveness from someone is like drinking poison and hoping the other guy gets sick.  The truth is that only we get sick emotionally and spiritually; sometimes literally physically sick.  God knows his children so he tells us to forgive so that relationships can heal; the relationship we have with God, the relationship we have with our neighbor and the relationship that sometimes occurs within us as we try to make our sainted part outweigh our sinful part.

    The thing about forgiveness is that it is rarely a “one and done” deal.  We may have to forgive every time we see someone who has hurt us.  It is not uncommon to have to remind ourselves, “I have forgiven him” whenever we meet someone.  It helps if you can identify the signs your body gives you.  For me, I need to pay attention to the fact that I will clench my teeth and soon the back of my jaw aches; then the Spirit will nudge and say, “he has been forgiven; move on.”  Perhaps you know yours or you should find it out.  Forgiveness can be a lifetime in coming and a daily need.

   We struggle to forgive but God gives us so many reasons to forgive our brothers.  We can heal hurts and even heal our own bodies from the bitterness and bile we experience when we refuse.  Forgiveness is healing for everyone!   

Gracious Father, lead us into your holy truth.  Move us by your Spirit to have a heart that forgives. Bring healing to the brokenness we face and give us your holy peace.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret