Forgive us our debts as we have forgiven our debtors.
What an amazing but challenging verse? It is amazing that God forgives us of ALL our wrong, but at the same time, God expects us to forgive ALL who have wronged us. As Christians we can put so much focus on the fact that God has completely forgiven us of all our failures and wrongs, but so often we fail, or forget, to forgive those who have wronged us! God makes it clear in His Word that He can’t forgive us if we don’t forgive others – see Matt 6:14-15 (Ouch!). God wants us to continually forgive one another whether that’s seven times or seventy-seven times (Matt 18:21-22).
The truth of the matter is that forgiveness can be incredibly hard. Why should we forgive someone and let them get away with it, when we’re the ones who got hurt? I love what C.S Lewis said – ‘To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.’ Wow!! This in itself should be enough to lead us to forgiveness. I think it’s also worth mentioning that choosing to forgive can be more beneficial for you than it is to the offender. Unforgiveness is like personal torture – we feel bitter, hurt, angry (the list goes on)! But when we choose to forgive the offender, we’re choosing to release all the hurt and pain and allow God to deal with it. Why don’t you make it a priority, not just today, but daily to forgive and not to hold onto grudges.
Prayer for myself – Thank you that you have forgiven all my wrongs and that there is nothing I can do that you can’t forgive!
Prayer for our church – Help us at Lifehouse to daily forgive others and continually show grace to one another.