Forgiving Those Who Wound UsSample

A Lifestyle of Forgiveness

After teaching his disciples to pray, Jesus gave them important insight into how they could walk together in this broken world. He showed them how the Father in heaven views their relationships with one another, and showed them the way to walk in light of his grace.

Our Father not only provides our daily bread, he also provides daily discipline. Forgiveness of sins in this passage is speaking about the daily accumulation of misdeeds, hurts, and wrongs that are a part of living out our faith in a fallen world. Our Father seeks to disciple us in this area of life, too. If we become hardened toward others and unforgiving (because they hurt us so often), our Father is good to keep us under his chastisement until we learn how to forgive. He is kind in confronting our pride and reminding us of our own faults.

Walking in forgiveness means that we are quick to acknowledge our sins against others and seek their forgiveness as soon as possible. But, it also means we are ready and willing to forgive those who sin against us. Such forgiveness is made possible when we consider what the Father has already forgiven us in Christ (Ephesians 4:32). The insults and injuries we receive from others are small compared to what Christ suffered as a result of our sins against him.

Living a lifestyle of forgiveness enables us to overlook small offenses and form relationships that can sustain healthy confrontation over serious interpersonal sins. Such a lifestyle can even help us see a world filled with injustice as our Father sees it—a world in need of a Savior. Then we can take part in his larger plan to redeem the world by modeling the truth of the gospel in our own lives.