Dealing With Meনমুনা

I Thought I Had Already Reached My Forgiveness Quota!

Many years ago I was teaching on forgiveness, and a woman minister who was listening to me said, “My husband is an alcoholic, and I want you to pray for him to be changed.” I asked, “How is your heart toward him?”

She continued, “It’s just terrible what he does all the time! I’m called to serve God, and he is hampering me in this call.” But after she heard the teaching on forgiveness, she forgave her husband, and her husband got saved and joined her in the ministry! In the past, her unforgiveness held him in that place of offending her constantly. But her forgiveness helped release him from the trap he was in, and he ended up serving God with her! That’s the power you and I have in forgiving others. 

While Jesus was on the cross dying, He said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing (Luke 23:34 NIV). They blasphemed Jesus by saying, “If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross” (Matthew 27:40). 

If we had been there, hearing them yelling and laughing at Him, and seeing them gambling for his robe, we might have said, “Oh, they know what they’re doing.” But from God’s point of view, they were spiritually blind and didn’t even know what they were doing. Jesus said it Himself: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

What does that say about those who have offended us? God’s perspective on forgiveness is that He doesn’t want them to be charged with the sin, and He desires that we ask Him to forgive them because they don’t know what they’re doing.  

Terrible things happen to people. Humans have the ability to bring great pain to one another. There’s physical and sexual abuse to children, there’s betrayal, rejection, and thievery, etc. Many people experience great rejection, pain, and hurt. But the debt we owed Jesus is greater than the debt the other person owes us. Do they “owe” us a debt if they’ve wronged us? Yes, they do, but they can’t pay. 

You can’t give your offender enough silent treatment or talk negatively enough about him or her to get payment in full. They simply can’t pay you what they owe you. You couldn’t pay your own debt, and the person who wronged you can’t pay his debt to you!  

Restoration is God’s will. Look at what Jesus did. He came and took our punishment. He paid our debt, and the enmity we had with God was destroyed. Now we have friendship with God. We have relationship with God because Jesus paid our debt. We were restored to God through forgiveness, and we have the power to be restored with the person who offended us.

You will not flourish in this life if you do not forgive what others have done to you — from your heart. Jesus said, “But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses” (Mark 11:26). And Romans 5:5 admonishes, “Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” 

Pray right now and release that person who offended you. Say, “God, I release that person right now in Jesus’ name.” Release the power of God by forgiving that person and yielding to the love of God that is in your heart by the Holy Spirit.

Confession

I will not hold on to offense; I will release those who have offended or hurt me because I yield to the love of God that is in my heart by the Holy Spirit. I will walk in the freedom that is mine in Christ, and I will extend that freedom to others. 

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