Forgiveness

Daily Reading

Matthew 6:14-15

Reflection

Letting Go

by Pastor Jeff Morlock

Forgiveness is one of the hardest things Jesus asks us to do as his followers. When I’ve been hurt or disappointed, I tend to replay the offense over and over again in my mind, cradling my anger instead of moving on. I become stuck in my own stubbornness, desiring to nurse my bitterness just a little bit longer. “And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us” we pray in the 5th Petition of the Lord’s Prayer. Do we understand how dangerous it is to pray this way? To ask that God would use the same measure of grace toward our sins that we use toward others?

In today’s reading from the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is describing the good life of the kingdom, which involves, among other things, loving God and others. So, if you’re struggling to forgive someone who has caused pain or offense, good for you! Enlist the power of the Holy Spirit and the encouragement and accountability of a fellow believer or two. In your struggle to forgive, all of heaven is rooting for you! As you persevere, God will surely give you both grace and victory.

But whatever you do, please don’t give up. Please don't decide that you will NEVER forgive them (whoever “they” may be). Unforgiveness is like poison that we take ourselves, thinking that we are hurting someone else. I know that some offenses are unspeakable. That's why forgiveness is a process. But forgiving is not condoning. Forgiving is not trusting someone (again) who is untrustworthy. Nor is it pretending that consequences don’t matter. They do. Rather, forgiveness is letting go. It’s releasing someone from your judgment so that you can be truly free, whether they seek your forgiveness or not. 

A hard heart is incompatible with the good life. This is what God’s chosen people Israel learned when the Lord allowed them to be carried into exile by their enemies (see Jeremiah 13:19). When we are far from him, God loves us enough to get our attention, even in unpleasant ways, that he might bring us back into right relationship with himself and others.  

Prayer Practice

Is there any bitterness inside you that indicates a need to forgive someone? Picture Jesus on the cross, and take 2-3 minutes to pray a simple breath prayer. Get somewhere quiet and relaxing. Breathe in deeply, and then breathe out fully. As you breathe in, ask the Lord to fill you with His presence, grace, mercy, love, peace, and the like. As you breathe out, offer to God what you need Him to take from you – sin, anger, bitterness, anxiety, fear.