Forgiven and Forgiving

How wonderful to hear that from Jesus Himself. This is what the Lord himself said to the paralytic. This was a man who could not go to Jesus himself. His friends carried him on a stretcher to the Lord. When no entrance was found, they cut a hole in the roof and lowered him down in front of the Lord. These are the first words the Lord spoke to him, "Friend, your sins are forgiven."

I love the reminder of how much I am forgiven by the Lord. It is something I hope I never get sick of hearing. It fills my heart with joy and gratitude to my wonderful Savior. I want everyone to experience the forgiveness He alone can offer. It is pure, holy, and without defect. There is nothing the Lord hangs onto. He does not bring things up from the past and rub my face in them. Once forgiven...then forgotten. I love this. 

What is hard for me to comprehend is that His forgiveness is what mine should be. He has called me to have this same kind of forgiveness towards others. That is much more difficult to say than it is to put into practice. However, He so wonderfully provides the way for it to become a reality. Just read what He says in the scriptures about it...

Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with a 

heart of mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one

 another and forgiving one another, if someone happens to have a complaint 

against anyone else. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also forgive others. 

Colossians 3:12-13

Instead, be kind to one another, compassionate,forgiving one another, 

just as God in Christ also forgave you.

Ephesians 4:32

If I can constantly remember His forgiveness for me, then there is no way I can keep it from anyone else. I have been forgiven so much. I am reflecting His love when I am able to forgive what seems to the world as unforgivable. I am even called to forgive those who repeatedly wrong me.

Watch yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him. If he repents, forgive him. 

Even if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times returns to 

you saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.” 

Luke 17:3-4

“Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be 

condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you: 

A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be poured into 

your lap. For the measure you use will be the measure you receive.”

Luke 6:37-38

This is not something I can brush aside and pretend like it is not for me. This is important to my God. He cares about this! In fact the way that I approach forgiveness is going to affect my own walk with Him.

For if you forgive others their sins, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 

But if you do not forgive others, your Father will not forgive you your sins. 

Matthew 6:14-15

“For this reason, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted 

to settle accounts 

with his slaves. As he began settling his accounts, a man who owed ten thousand talents 

was brought to him. Because he was not able to repay it, the lord ordered him to be 

sold, along with his wife, children, and whatever he possessed, and repayment to be made.Then the slave threw himself to the ground before him, saying, ‘Be patient with me, 

and I will repay you everything.’ The lord had compassion on that slave and released him, 

and forgave him the debt. After he went out, that same slave found one of his fellow 

slaves who owed him one hundred silver coins. So he grabbed him by the throat and 

started to choke him, saying, ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ Then his fellow slave threw 

himself down and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will repay you.’ But he 

refused. Instead, he went out and threw him in prison until he repaid the debt. When 

his fellow  slaves saw what had happened, they were very upset and went and told their 

lord everything that had taken place. Then his lord called the first slave and said to him

‘Evil slave! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me! Should you not have 

shown mercy to your fellow slave, just as I showed it to you?’ And in anger his lord turned 

him over to the prison guards to torture him until he repaid all he owed. So also my 

heavenly Father will do to you, if each of you does not forgive your brother from your heart.”

Matthew 18: 23-35

This is a huge call. A call to not hold grudges, not be angry with those who wrong us, not keep accounts, and to constantly have an attitude of forgiveness. 

Whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, 

so that your Father in heaven will also forgive you your sins.” 

Mark 11:25

I have to be honest with myself, there are times when I have not been right with a brother or sister. There have been situation where I have been hurt by another and my flesh rears up in anger. I have been bitter and without any sense of forgiveness. God used this verse in one of those moments to convict me of those things in my heart. I was humbled and thankful for His guidance. That day I was able to have restoration in a relationship very dear to me. I listened to His voice and obeyed. I tell you, His way is so much better than ours! It was a wonderful testimony of His will being so much better than my own.

If you forgive anyone for anything, I also forgive him – for indeed what I have 

forgiven (if I have forgiven anything) I did so for you in the presence of Christ, 

so that we may not be exploited by Satan (for we are not ignorant of his schemes). 

2 Corinthians 2:10-11

Let this speak for itself and sink in...