Forgiveness

I find it really ironic that I decided mid-week last week to write on forgiveness, and then forgot to post until today--missing my weekly post for the first time this year. So, I'm going to have to forgive myself for that, and ask for your forgiveness for not sticking to my plan.

I got the idea to talk about forgiveness the other day after I said my nighttime prayer. In this prayer, I think I asked forgiveness for not being as diligent in my Bible study as I should be. I think I hadn't read my bible at all that day, and it was probably 2 am, and I just wasn't going to do it and I felt really sorry for that. After I prayed this prayer, I felt so relieved. I don't always feel relieved when I pray for forgiveness (which is likely a mistake), but this time I really contemplated God's forgiving power and his willingness to forgive, and I knew that it was all going to be okay. I knew the Lord heard me, and that he let go of my past. He forgot it. It didn't count anymore. He trusted me to do better.

I knew this to be the case because of these passages (And so many more, of course. Forgiveness is really the message of the Bible):

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.

Matthew 7:7-8 - Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.

Acts 13:38-39 - Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man [Jesus] forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses. 

God is definitely forgiving us all the time when we repent of our sins. And that is so powerful! 

And here's what I really want to take away from this. We should be forgiving people all the time. We shouldn't spend time not forgiving those who have wronged us. On the cross, Christ forgave not only an unworthy criminal only because he asked to be remembered, but he also asked that God forgive all of the people who were actively killing him.

Jesus did not forgive those people, and does not forgive us, in a way that changes our relationship with him. We certainly don't deserve to be forgiven at all, but that doesn't stop him from forgiving. And our unworthiness also doesn't cause him hesitancy, or cause him to distance himself from us, or care for us any less. We sin. We repent. God forgives us. And it's like it never happened. This doesn't always take away the physical consequences of sin, but it does take away the spiritual consequences. Through forgiveness we avoid separation from God. Though his mercy he saves us from death.


I think that we all need to be more like Christ in our relationships. We know that Christ admonishes us to forgive "seventy times seven" (Matt 18:22), but our attitude about this forgiveness is important. Christ has the kind of forgiveness that lets us back in even though we are guaranteed to hurt him again. His forgiveness forgets previous wrongs, trusting us to make the right decision in the future. His forgiveness comes from perfect love. 

We take the easy way out by saying "I forgive them, but things have to change. Our relationship can't be the same. I have to remember what they did to me, so I don't get hurt." What if Christ said that to us? ..."I'm so glad you've turned from that sin and want to do the right thing now, but I actually can't let you back into a relationship with me. You crucify me day by day and that's just too much for me to handle." No. We don't want that. So why would we want that in our relationships? Why would we strive to act differently than our savior? I definitely understand that it is difficult, and I know that there are circumstances, but we have to remember Christ when it comes to forgiving. 

Christ absolves us completely of our sins, forgetting our wrongs and giving us infinite chances although we are unworthy. How are we going to treat those who sin against us?