Hard Verse to Swallow

We all know it.  For Christians, it’s probably one of the most familiar things that we have all recited.  I’m referring, of course, to what we call The Lord’s Prayer.  This prayer is the pattern given by Jesus of how we should pray.  It’s found in Matthew 6:9-13 “This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’”  I have heard and recited this prayer so many times that it has kind of become something that I mindlessly say without really thinking about it. 

                However, recently this prayer has struck me in a way that is slightly uncomfortable.  In particular the part about “forgive us as we forgive others”.  That’s a scary thing to pray if you happen to hold any unforgiveness.  Do we really want God to forgive us the way that we forgive others?  I can honestly say that until recently, that is not what I wanted.  I had a few people that I secretly harbored unforgiveness for, whether I consciously realized it or not. 

                I love to listen to various podcasts while I am cleaning throughout the day and about a month ago I heard one about unforgiveness.  Since that time, I have really been mulling that over in my mind, and digging into scripture to read more about it.  There are several things that God has to say about forgiving others.  Here are a few verses just as examples:

                 1.       Immediately after the Lord’s prayer in Matthew 6, the very next verses say this, “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” Matthew 6:14-15.  These words are in red folks, that means they came from Jesus himself.  Not only are we told to forgive others, we are also told that if we don’t forgive others, God will not forgive us.  That should absolutely terrify us and that alone should inspire us to forgive others.

                 2.       “Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, ‘Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?’ Jesus answered, ‘I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.’” Matthew 18:21-22.  We are told to forgive continually.  That means even if the same person sins against you time and time again, you still need to forgive them.  That doesn’t mean that we are excusing their action, it means that we are not going to continue to hold it against them. 

a.       Immediately after this verse, Jesus goes on to tell the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant.  If you are unfamiliar with this parable I recommend going and reading Matthew 18, but in a nutshell, a man was shown a ton of mercy by a king by being forgiven of a tremendous debt that he could not pay.  He then turned around and demanded payment from someone who owed him a small about but who also could not pay.  Rather than extending the same mercy as he had received, he had that person thrown in prison.  This got back to the King who was not happy.  The king handed him over to the jailers to be tortured until he could pay back all he owed.  Jesus ended the parable by saying “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.” Matthew 18:35. Have you felt any torture in your life? Maybe there’s someone you need to forgive from your heart.

                 3.       “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.” Matthew 5:23-24.  We are told to reconcile before approaching God.  That’s a pretty big deal.  To me that means that if we want our prayers to be heard, we have got to forgive others. 

The most interesting (and honestly the hardest) thing I have noticed in the last month or two of digging a little deeper, is that we are not told to forgive only if the other person deserves it or if they ask us for forgiveness and pay us back for the damage done.  No, we are simply told to continually forgive others.  This is not dependent on the other person.  It isn’t dependent on if they deserve it.  And it isn’t dependent on if they are even repentant.  Forgiving others doesn’t even always affect others.  However, it does impact us.  If we are not forgiving someone, that person and their actions tend to constantly be in the back of our minds.  We develop hatred and even wish ill on that person.  In severe situations, it may even impact our health.  If we forgive someone it doesn’t excuse that person.  It does, however, release us from the oppression of the sin that person committed against us.  God still tells us, “Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’” Romans 12:19.  God is still in charge.  Just like I always tell my daughter when she starts yelling at her sister, “I’m the mommy, you aren’t, if your sister is being bad let me take care of it, not you.”.  God is telling us, “I’m God, you aren’t, if your brother or sister are being bad let me take care of it, not you.”.  Whoever you may need to forgive, I encourage you to sit down and get serious with God and let that burden go.