Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Forgive and Forget

"For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins."
Matthew 6: 14 & 15

The hardest kind of sins to forgive are the ones done against me when I didn't do anything to deserve that type of treatment. God knows how that feels - what did he do to deserve death by crucifixtion?

Everytime I sin against someone, I also sin against God. Multiply that as each person sins against another, all those sins are committed against God, too. So, let's look at how He forgives...

I love it when someone forgives me, but can they also forget what I did? Or will it keep popping up, like an unwanted ad, reminding me of my dirtiness?

How thoroughly does our Father forgive? Psalm 103:12 says, "As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions fom us." Never the twain shall meet, he won't keep bringing it up again and again. It is removed, blotted out. Isaiah 43:25 says, "I am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more." But remember, if we want to be forgiven, we must also be forgiving.

Pray with me: Lord, teach me to forgive others, just as your forgive me, by thoroughly forgetting the wrongdoing. Take the crimson stains and make them as white as snow. Teach me to do likewise, even if the transgressor is unapologetic; may I forgive for your sake. Amen.

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