God's ImitatorsSample

Forgive "MOM! He hit me!" you scream. Your mom comes running into the room and tells your brother, "We don't hit! Now tell her you're sorry!" "I'm sorry," he mumbles. "I forgive you," you say--with a major eye roll, a little bit of a sigh, and a whole lotta sarcasm. That's not exactly what God meant when He said, "As holy people whom God has chosen and loved . . . forgive as the Lord forgave you. Above all, be loving" (Colossians 3:12-14). I'll be honest that it's hard to forgive. Our sense of right and wrong demands justice--no one hits me and gets away with it, we think. God's sense of right and wrong demands justice too, but God changed the whole idea of justice. You sin against God, and you get away with it while Jesus got the punishment. Now that you have been absolutely, positively, fully, and completely forgiven, you get the privilege of sharing that forgiveness with someone else. Because Jesus made the payment for your sins (and your brother's), nobody "owes" you anything anymore.