Word of the Week - Forgiveness

“Give us this day our daily bread.  And forgive us our sins as we also forgive those who have sinned against us”.  Matthew 6:12

God’s love for us is demonstrated by His amazing grace that “While we were still sinners God died for us” Romans 5:8  In doing so, by His blood Jesus took away the sin of the world to give us access to salvation through Forgiveness of the original sin of Adam and our own personal sin.  God offers us Forgiveness of our sins with only the stipulation that we admit we are sinners in need of His saving grace by confessing our sins to God, and that we extend this same Forgiveness to others.  The truth is that no matter how good we are, we are still sinners “We are all sinners and fall short of the Glory of God”. Romans 3:23.  So whether you are a proclaimed Christian or not, you are in need of Forgiveness.  God is so loving and good that He literally came to earth in the flesh to give us the gift of Forgiveness and model what it looks like.  Yes, he hates sin but He loves sinners (us) and desires to wash us clean by His blood through the miracle of Forgiveness, which is available to all who call upon His name with humble and contrite hearts.Just as the Lord freely Forgives us, He requires us to extend this same grace to others.  This can be really challenging because people can really hurt us and it is very hard to Forgive someone who has wounded you deeply.  That being said, it is much worse for us if we allow our hurts to grow bitter roots of resentment.  Research has shown that unresolved conflict and resentment can negatively impact your health and cause emotional, mental and physical issues such as anxiety, depression, high blood pressure and heart disease.  It has been said that unforgiveness is like drinking poison hoping the other person gets sick; it really impacts us rather than the other person.  On the other hand, if we truly receive and understand the power of God’s Forgiveness, then we will have the capacity, strength and grace to Forgive others in the same way that God has Forgiven us.  In Forgiving others and letting go, we will find deep healing and restoration in our soul, regardless of how the person we are extending Forgiveness to reacts.  It is really not about them, it is about us and our relationship with the Lord.Personal health and freedom is a big reason to Forgive others but there is even a more important reason, unforgiveness breaks our fellowship with God.  “So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift” Matthew 5:23-24.  By the way it is up to us to make the first move in the process of Forgiveness and it is not a function of the other persons remorse or lack thereof.  Whether they apologize or not, we are still called to Forgive the person for the offense, no matter how meaningful. We are also called to offer people unlimited Forgiveness even for the same offenses. “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 times seven”  Matthew 18:21-22By the way, Forgiveness is not to be confused with reconciliation.  Just because we Forgive people does not mean we have to hang out with them and it surely does not mean that we minimize what they have done to hurt us.  We are called to Forgive but not necessarily to forget.  The idea of Forgiveness is that we let go so we are not weighed down by the offense so we can move forward with freedom, but it does not mean that we foolishly repeat the same thing over and over. We have to pray for wisdom when it comes to relationships, sometimes they simply may not be healthy for us.  We are ultimately called to Love God and Love others and in doing so we must receive the fullness of God’s love and His Forgiveness so we have the capacity to extend the same Love to others.  This is the amazing Love and Grace of the Lord.“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you” Ephesians 4:32Sorry, I got a little carried away on this one and went too long.  But Forgiveness is so important and misunderstood by many.Have a great week…-Duane