Forgiveness is a willingness to let go other people’s mistakes that have been made against us without any condition and forget about it. The opposite of forgiveness: keeping other’s mistakes. The principles of forgiveness we need to live on:
1. We must have an unlimited broad heart to be able to release forgiveness at any moment needed (Matthew 18:21-22).
Peter asked to what extent we should forgive our neighbor and he gave limit until 7 times. But Jesus gave different limit, He said we ought to forgive to the extent of 70 x 7 x. In other words He wanted to say we ought to have enough broad heart to forgive without limit.
2. Forgiving is not a virtue that we do for the sake of others but for our own sake.
Actually we do not forgive for the sake of others but for our own sake. Because if you do not forgive, there area lot of bad things we can experience. Among them:
a. Stopping the flow of spirit life in us (Proverbs 4:23).
Keeping mistakes of others are like piling garbage in our hearts and when that happens, the flow of the spirit life can be blocked by them. We will experience spiritual dryness so making it difficult for us to continue living in the truth because we do not have the spiritual strength needed.
b. Hindering the results of prayer and our faith (Mark 11:25-26).
No matter how great we pray and believe, will still be hindered if we continue to keep the mistakes of others, because the Father is not pleasing to our lives.
c. Making the gift of God’s forgiveness pulled back from our lives (Matthew 18:23-35).
If we will not forgive those who wrong us, God’s gift of forgiveness will be pulled back from our lives. It means we live out of grace. It’s like we are being submitted to the executioners. Our lives become battered. The executioners could be in a form of no peace, sickness, etc..
3. When we receive the the gift of forgiveness from God, that moment we receive the grace to forgive our neighbor.
We have no reason not to forgive because God has given His grace, the problem is do we really want to live in His grace. That is why God is angry if we do not forgive because forgiveness is supposed to be an easy job for us.
The calculation is like this: In Matthew 18:23-35, Jesus gave a parable, The servant could not pay his debts to the king and then begged for forgiveness and the king forgave him by freeing him from his 10 thousand talent debts (equivalent to 10 million dollars or about 90 billion rupiahs now).
But after he was released from such a large debt, he didn’t want to free the debts of his friend who owed only 100 dinars (equivalent to 20 dollars or about 180 thousand rupiahs).
A person who has been released from his debts of 10 million dollars or 90 billion dollars should be easily freeing others just for 20 dollars or 180 thousand dollars. But the man did not want to do that, he then strangled him and put him in jail.
That is often done by Christians. Our sins are so great to the Father in heaven, but Father loves us and gave His gift of forgiveness.
But when others offend us, we arrogantly judge and punish that person. Whereas other people’s mistakes that have been made against us only small compared to our mistakes to Father in Heaven.
“And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen (Matthew 6:12-13).
If we know that He is the owner of the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever, we will easily forgive those who wrong us and if we forgive others just as the Father has forgiven us, we will not fall into temptation. Amen.
Make the principles of forgiveness we need to live on as a strong conviction, then you will easily forgive those who hurt you and forget it.
Also read: Impacts If our steps are Ordered by God.
