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Love Identity & Purpose, Part 5
One of the reasons we have a hard time receiving the love of the Father, is that we are holding unforgiveness to a person, or an entity. Remember in 1 John 2:13, the Apostle John tells us that little children know their sins are forgiven. The first stage of our growth as believers is to know our sins are forgiven – not just to know it intellectually, but to embrace it and have it settled in our hearts.
Once we are forgiven, God chooses not to remember our sins anymore. That means we are no longer attached to our wrongdoing. In the same manner, we are to forgive others who do us wrong. When Jesus taught His disciples how to pray, as we read in Matthew 6:9:15, verse 12 of the prayer says, “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” Then in verse 14, we read, “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”
Forgiveness is not always easy. Even the disciples had a hard time understanding. Matthew 18 21-35 shows us that Peter asked Jesus how many times to forgive. Jesus responded in verse 22, “…I do not say seven times, but up to seventy times seven.” Dr. Henry Malone shares that actually means to be forgiven 70 x 7 times for the same offense on the same day. That means a person would have to offend you 490 times, or nearly every three minutes in a 24-hour period. The passage goes on to tell a parable about a servant who owed his master a large debt that was impossible to pay. The master forgave the debt because the servant begged him. The servant immediately went out and demanded repayment from one of his servants for a very small debt, threatening to throw him into prison until he could repay. When the master heard this, he called him a wicked servant and turned him over to the tormentors. Then verse 35 tells us, “So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.”
The degree or dimension in which God lives in us is the degree or dimension in which we experience His love personally and release His love to others. We must forgive everyone who has hurt us or offended us in any way. Sometimes, you may need to forgive yourself for a disappointment. God has already forgiven you, so you have the capacity to forgive others and yourself.
The degree or dimension in which God lives in us is the degree or dimension in which we experience His love personally and release His love to others. We must forgive everyone who has hurt us or offended us in any way.
Let’s Pray
Heavenly Father, I thank you that you have forgiven me a debt that I could never pay. Thank you for loving me so much that you made a way to reconcile me to you through your son, Jesus. Please reveal to me those I need to forgive that I might continue walking in your forgiveness. Help me to release them, from my heart, and be a blessing to them. Thank you for your grace to extend forgiveness to _______________, in Jesus name.
Pray this prayer for every person the Holy Spirit shows you that you need to forgive.
