Matthew 6:12 “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” 14 “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”
All of us, the entire human race, is stuck! Each one of us does wrong things and sins, and God views those sins as debts. No matter how hard we try, no matter how many good resolutions we make, we are going to forget and think something bad or say something wrong or act in an unrighteous manner. We need forgiveness every single moment of every day!
Jesus once told a story about a man who had incurred a staggering debt – millions of dollars’ worth – to a wealthy ruler. The ruler was prepared to throw the man into prison, but when the man begged for forgiveness, the ruler relented. Each one of us is like that debtor. There is a Country Gospel song that says, “He paid a debt He did not owe. I owed a debt I could not pay. I needed someone to wash my sins away.” “Great!” you say. “What a wonderful act of generosity.” But wait. There’s more to the story. Because this same man who had just had an enormous debt canceled then turned around and threw one of his colleagues in debtors’ prison over a matter involving a few dollars. And when the wealthy ruler found out, he reinstated the debt and threw the unforgiving wretch into debtors’ prison, where he would live out the rest of his life.
We must ask God for forgiveness. 1 John 1:8 -10 says “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.”
But what if we harbor unforgiveness and resentment in our hearts? Adam Clarke says, “It was a maxim among the ancient Jews, that no man should lie down in his bed, without forgiving those who had offended him. That man condemns himself to suffer eternal punishment, who makes use of this prayer with revenge and hatred in his heart.” If you are unwilling to forgive someone who has offended you in some small fashion, you are crazy! Your unforgiveness makes it impossible for God to forgive you. We must forgive quickly and completely, not harboring up a list of grievances to be trotted out the next time we are irritated by that person. You will pay a price now in the stress you are putting on your body. But you are also risking paying an eternal price. Forgive and enjoy heaven. Refuse to forgive and choose hell in the process.
PRAYER: Father God, help us! We are so quick to become offended and so slow to forgive! And many times we feel justified in our anger; meanwhile, you have canceled our staggering sin debt through the blood of Jesus. Lord, help us! Even now, cause us to remember those whom we have yet to forgive and to forgive them at once, now and forever. In the matchless Name of Jesus. Amen.
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