September 11
Matthew 6:14-15
“For if you forgive others their trespasses [their reckless and willful sins], your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others [nurturing your hurt and anger with the result that it interferes with your relationship with God], then your Father will not forgive your trespasses.”
Why is forgiveness so difficult an act for us to do? It is often difficult because we do not expect humans to be humans. Another reason is that we put people on pedestals that only God should occupy. Many times when we find it hard to forgive it is because we cannot believe that one person or the other will do this or that. We cannot believe that a human being did what human beings do. For this reason, forgiveness is tough, because we require from individuals what we ourselves cannot even provide.
You cannot expect everyone to be perfect when you yourselves are not perfect. How can you expect people not to make mistakes when you yourself are prone to mistakes. We must learn to forgive as God forgives us. We have to forgive seventy times seven and more. To do so, however, we need God’s grace. We need His enablement because we cannot do it on our owns.
The most important thing we must realize is that our inability to forgive only affects us. When we nurture and harbor the hurt, anger, and irritation that builds unforgiveness in our hearts, it negatively affects our relationship with God. It interferes with everything that we do with Him. Do not taint your relationship with God because of your inability to forgive. No one is worth your relationship. Learn to forgive because forgiveness liberates you and gives you peace of mind. Remember also that God forgives you countless times a day, even of your gravest sin. Therefore forgive, for if you do not forgive then your Father in heaven will not forgive you.
