Forgiveness

Jesus had a few things to say about forgiveness. In Matthew 5:23-24, He said, “Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.” If you are reconciled to someone, it appears that someone had to forgive the other, right? (By the way, “Ought” means “anything”.)

Jesus also said this in Mark 11:25-26, “And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.” That’s serious. If God our Father doesn’t forgive our trespasses, we can’t go to Heaven!

See what Jesus told the Apostle Peter: “Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.” Matthew 18:21-22.

Do you know what keeps us from forgiving others? Usually, it’s pride. Our pride says, “He wounded me, and I won’t forget it!” Unfortunately, pride is on the list of things God hates. Proverbs 6:16-19; Proverbs 8:13.

When we don’t forgive, we become bitter, and bitterness is not pleasing to God. “Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.” Ephesians 4:31-32.

Today, ask the Lord to help you to forgive those who have hurt you. If you know of someone who feels that you have slighted them in some way, ask their forgiveness too.