Not an Option

If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.
Matthew 6:14-15 NLT

Usually, when we have been hurt or wronged, we want revenge. Some sort of payback. Sadly, forgiveness is not the first thing to come to mind. We might get there eventually... once we get past the feelings and emotions, the anger and/or pain of the offense. 

We tend to think of readily-available forgiveness as only for us, not for someone who sinned against us. That somehow God is as mad at them as we are for what they did. Not so. 

I remember the first time I read today's promise with the understanding that in order to be forgiven of my sins, I must first forgive others. I remember arguing with God, "Yeah, but they did such-and-such! And for no reason!" "Yeah, but..." and more 'Yeah, buts'. I tried to weigh out the right and wrong of it, working through the intense emotions. It's tough to forgive when there are all those feelings, but we're called to walk by faith... Especially when dealing with repeat offenses, and yet, Jesus addressed that, too, in Matthew 18. Remember Peter's question. How many times do I have to forgive - seven? And Jesus told him no, seventy times seven...

Forgiveness is not about feelings. Forgiveness is not presented as an option. Forgiveness is not just a choice - it's an act of obedience to the words of Christ. If we want to be forgiven, we must forgive.

Prayer:

Father,

         Thank You for making provision so that we can be forgiven of our many trespasses against You. Let Your Word manifest in us so that we walk by faith and not by our feelings, so that we can truly love and forgive others as You have forgiven us. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen