Unforgiveness and the Power of PardonНамуна

Horizontal Forgiveness

After describing God's forgiveness toward us, Jesus also explained why we must extend forgiveness to those who have wronged us. This is horizontal forgiveness.

Continuing His parable in Matthew 18, Jesus described how the forgiven servant went and violently demanded repayment from a fellow servant who owed him a mere pittance. The man's plea—"Have patience with me, and I will pay you all"—should have been a sword in the servant's heart; they were the very words he had uttered at his master's feet. Instead, he had his debtor thrown in jail, not showing even a fraction of the compassion his master showed him.

When the master heard about it, he was angry. While the forgiven servant had the legal right to throw his fellow man into prison, the right response would have been to eclipse legal action with loving action. By refusing to forgive, the servant was essentially placing himself above his master.

How often have there been people in our lives for whom we felt a legitimate right to withhold forgiveness? It could have been an abusive parent, a business associate who swindled us out of a large sum of money, a spouse who broke the marriage vow, or a drunk driver who took away one of our loved ones. Certainly, the offense occurred, and our anger is justified. But being forgiven by the Lord carries with it both the privilege and the responsibility to pass on the blessing.

You may feel this is impossible to do, and even if you could somehow forgive, you're certain you could never forget. Christian missionary and author Amy Carmichael spoke about God's ability to accomplish this miracle in our lives: "If I say 'Yes, I forgive,' but I cannot forget, as though the God, who twice a day washes all the sands on all the shores of all the world, could not wash away such memories from my mind, then I know nothing of Calvary love."

That's a lofty thought. Calvary love is the kind of love that is unexpected and out of the ordinary. Calvary love is a grace that dismantles grudges. And Calvary love is evidenced by forgiving those who don't deserve it.

To refuse to forgive someone who has wronged you is the height of hypocrisy, because you have been forgiven the ultimate debt that you could never repay. There should be no room in your heart for a bitter, unforgiving attitude toward anyone, otherwise what would make you any different than an unbeliever? If you have truly been redeemed, then you ought to extend to others the love and generosity God Himself has graciously extended to you. Tomorrow we'll take a look at how you can do that practically.