Then he adds: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.” Hebrews 10:7
Have you ever had someone that no matter what you try, you just can’t forgive them. We try praying for them, but when it doesn’t work it is because our flesh takes over and our prayers turn into a replay of what they did to us. Then the replay turns into retaliation and we start to think about what our flesh would like to do to that person and it is as far from forgiveness as you can get. You give up your prayers, feeling defeated and hurt all over again and you think, the hurt or damage that this person perpetrated in your life is just unforgivable.
Sometimes we try to trade places with the person in our minds, but that doesn’t work because our flesh causes us to think “I would NEVER do that”. And we begin to judge and be filled with bitterness all over again. The reason that this method doesn’t work is that unless we have actually lived a person’s life, felt every hurt, pain and betrayal as well as every joy and blessing they have ever experienced, we can’t possibly know how we would behave, if the tables were turned.
Lets look at some of the people we cannot forgive and …perhaps the person that hurt us was our husband/wife and we cannot forgive that indiscretion; Perhaps it is a friend who betrayed our confidence; or maybe it is on of our children who isn’t living out our dream; perhaps it is a parent who let us down or a sibling who didn’t behave the way that we thought that they should; Maybe our unforgiveness is even toward a brother or sister in Christ.
Lets look at some of the circumstances…perhaps the sin that was committed, that hurt us, was done prior to the individual knowing Jesus as their Lord and Savior; Maybe the sin didn’t even involve us, maybe it involved a loved one and we are carrying that unforgivness on their behalf; Maybe the person who hurt us already repented and we still won’t forgive.
Regardless of the circumstances, God says “Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to say ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.” – Luke 17:4; “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” – Ephesians 4:31-32; “Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” – Colossians 3:13;
First, when we think about how a person has sinned against us we need to stop making gods of ourselves. When a person sins, they sin against God, NOT us (King David, after committing infidelity and murder prays – Psalm 51:4 – Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight. You will be proved right in what you say, and your judgment against me is just.) If a person is sinning, in any fashion, they are in a battle with the enemy and sometimes we get hit with the shrapnel from the battle.
Second, stop judging others sins and start thinking about the magnitude of ours. Most of the time, if we are honest with ourselves, we have committed sins that have affected others similarly. Sometimes that is not the case and the sin that hurt us was a deep and ugly sin. Maybe we are not guilty of that particular sin, but we have deep and ugly sins. Every one of us, have sins that we have committed that we pray no one ever finds out about.
God says “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.” – Matthew 7:1-5. God knows your sin. “For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light.” – Luke 18:17
Third, our Heavenly Father desired perfection for us. Adam and Eve got us kicked out of the garden (let’s not fool ourselves, we wouldn’t have lasted long either ; ). But God devised a plan that would allow us to experience perfection, forgiveness, redemption and eternity with Him. That plan was that His one and only Son would be rejected, ridiculed, persecuted, beaten and sacrificed and that He would pay the penalty for our sins, so that we could be forgiven. We knew right from wrong, from our earliest memories. But we sinned (Romans 3:23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God).
Look at the lengths at which our Heavenly Father has gone to redeem us. We not only rejected Him and did not desire a relationship with Him, but once we did accept Him, we kept sinning, and sinning, and sinning. We have sinned far more against God, than that one sin that you are not forgiving another of. Our sins were the strips of the whip that tore the flesh from Jesus body, our sins were the thorns that pierced His flesh, when the crown of thorns was placed on His head, our sins were the nails that pierced Christ’s flesh and nailed Him to the cross. His blood ran red that we might be cleansed, turning us white as snow (Come now, let’s settle this,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool. Isaiah 1:18) and yet we rejected Him.
Can we forgive as we have been forgiven? No, I Just Cannot Do It, not because I refuse, but because no one has sinned against me the way that I have sinned against God. Yet God says “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9; “Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!” Romans 5:9-10; “as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” Psalm 103:12; “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.” Hebrews 10:7
I pray that today we would reflect on the magnitude of our sin and rebellion and that we would rejoice over the even greater magnitude of God’s forgiveness and love for us. I pray that we would forgive, love and pray for those whom we have held in the bonds of unforgiveness. Our forgiveness may be what God uses to draw them to a saving relationship with Him and that is far more important than our being right our getting vengeance (Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” Romans 12:19). Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and soul and forgive as you have been forgiven (or as close as you can get ; ).
If you do not know the love and forgiveness of God and are broken because of the shrapnel that you have been hit with, I pray that you would go to our Life Preserver page and pray the prayer that is outlined there. It is only with His help that you will be able to truly forgive and I cannot tell you the peace that comes once He has forgiven you. Once you have prayed that prayer please reach out to me at admin@Forgiven-N-Loved.com and let me know, so that I can pray for you and hopefully help you continue to grow in your relationship with and knowledge of our Precious Savior Jesus Christ.
Luv Ya!
