Run Over by the Grace TrainSample

DAY 7: Grace Forgives

Forgiveness. What a loaded word. We have all been sinned against, and we have all sinned against someone else. While Jesus was hanging on the cross, He asked God the Father to forgive His murderers. In Matthew 18, Jesus tells us what to do when we have conflict with our brother or sister, and what will happen if we don’t forgive.

Forgiveness is a big deal. It takes guts to do it. Forgiveness is not a feeling but a willful decision to cancel someone’s debt they owe you. It is not mustered up by your own strength but can only flow from first receiving forgiveness from God. Forgiveness doesn’t earn forgiveness from God but rather is evidence that you have been forgiven. Jesus canceled your debt; therefore, you can cancel someone else’s.

Now, while forgiveness can bring freedom, unforgiveness is like a poison in your bloodstream. It overtakes you and tortures you. It is not something to be messed around with. Forgiving someone is not minimizing the pain they caused you. It is not forgetting what happened or even reconciling with that person. Forgiveness is a form of grace that God has poured out on you that you can pour out on others.

Create your own debt ledger and write down on it the name of the person or persons who sinned against you. Write down what they did and what they took from you. Then, bring the ledger to the feet of Jesus and choose to cancel that debt. Remember, that the person that you are holding a debt over their head may even be you.