Choosing Forgiveness Sýnishorn

Forgiveness flows daily.

The thing about The Lord’s Prayer that most of us forget is that it’s a daily prayer. It’s no coincidence that Jesus includes forgiveness in this daily prayer, found in Matthew 6:12: “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” Every day, we must circle back to this prayer and practice the flow of forgiveness. We ask for and extend forgiveness, not as one-time events, but as a daily occurrence. For as many times as is necessary, even if it’s seven times in one day, we are called to keep this flow of forgiveness.

Luke 15 tells the story of one son, who takes his share of his father’s estate and squanders it, and his older brother, who becomes offended by how quickly and completely the father forgives his younger brother when he returns. The older brother feels the younger brother has received something that he not only doesn’t deserve but something the older brother doesn’t have for himself. When he brings this to his father’s attention, his father responds by reminding him, “you are always with me, and everything I have is yours” (v. 31).

It probably felt unfair to the older brother to see forgiveness, mercy, and freedom displayed in such obvious and tangible ways, but the truth is that there was forgiveness, mercy, and freedom flowing toward him on a daily basis. What he was witnessing was how the flow to his younger brother had just been restarted after having cut himself off from it.

This is the good news about forgiveness: it is always freely flowing and you are never too late to choose to step into it.

Remember that the flow of forgiveness runs freely to you and through you on a daily basis. Everything God has is already yours. Or maybe you need to reopen the flow. There is freedom waiting for you on the other side when you repent and ask God for forgiveness. He is faithful to meet you where you are and create a life-changing flow of forgiveness in your life.