Forgiving Others

February 15th, 2017

Matthew 6:14-15

Think of one time in the last twenty-four hours you’ve failed God. Maybe you didn’t commit some atrocious sin (not by human standards, anyway), but you were impatient with someone, or you were inflated with pride, or a thought crossed your mind that was unkind.

God knows that we aren’t perfect, and thankfully, He forgives us. Sometimes we think that our “small” failures aren’t such a big deal, but this only shows how little we truly fathom the holiness of God. Even the smallest of white lies trespasses against His holy nature like a gaping black stain. This is why Isaiah 64:6 says that our righteous actions are like filthy rags.

Jesus said if we do not forgive others, God will not forgive us. In comparison to how we’ve transgressed against God, the things others do to us are quite petty. As the parable in Matthew 18 illustrates, it’s as if we’ve been forgiven of a billion-dollar debt that we could’ve never hoped to repay, and yet when others owe us mere pennies, we demand that they pay up.

Pray: God, I’ve been hurt. Someone has wronged me, and deep inside, I want to hold it against them as if that will somehow make them pay for what they’ve done. I know that I’m really hurting no one but myself. I also know that I’ve wronged You in ways I can never make right on my own, yet You do not hold my failures against me. Help me to forgive as You do, so that I can be free.