Matthew 18:27, 29 say,
“Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.”
“His fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt.”
I'll be referencing the passage of the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant from Matthew 18:25-35.
So I've been forgiven for a lot. I mean A LOT. God is so gracious and good and not only has He forgiven me but He has given freedom from sin and guilt and He has an amazing plan for my life that He wants me to walk in. He didn't say, “Okay I forgive you but you have to walk in the shame of everything you've ever done and because of your sin, you will never be able to do anything do with your life for My name.” No, that is the complete opposite of what He says. When I repent, He forgets my sin and casts it as far as the east is from the west! There is no record. No list of wrongs. I'm free; it's gone. Jesus took my sin upon himself so that I could have this amazing freedom and relationship with God! He himself bridged the gap that should never have been bridged because of my sin.
Okay, so now all of that being said, what right do I think I have to ever hold back forgiveness from someone and hang on to a grudge? No one could ever do anything that makes them too far gone to be forgiven. We've been forgiven from the unimaginable by a perfect God so why in the world do we think that we can not forgive. I'm not saying that people don't hurt us. Forgiving doesn't mean that what was done is okay. It means that you won't be corrupted by bitterness any longer. To forgive doesn't even mean to trust immediately or ever. But when we hold onto bitterness, we are the ones who suffer. Bitterness is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.
Hebrews 12:15 says,
“Looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled.”
Bitterness is a weed and it happens fast. We need to cut it out at the root so that it won't come back. Okay so back to the parable. One servant was forgiven from an incredible debt from his master but then turned around and demanded a debt be paid to him by a fellow servant who owed him so much less than what the first servant had just been forgiven of. We look at this at first glance and think he's crazy but we do this all the time. We have been forgiven from so much that we can't even put into words what our debt to Christ was, yet when someone slanders us or mistreats us or whatever they do, we hold grudges and throw temper tantrums and refuse to forgive. I am so guilty of this. I look at other people who are living lives of sin or who have wronged me and think, “Wow, how awful are they. I could never forgive them!” But why not? I have been forgiven of so much more! Lots of times I end up judging someone for living a life of sin that is so similar to the way that I used to live. What right do I have? I have been forgiven and given freedom beyond what I could ever deserve. I spit in Jesus' face and put Him on the cross yet I hold grudges for what could be compared to someone just stepping on my toes. This is something that I have to constantly remind myself. I have no right not to forgive. I don't deserve forgiveness any more than they do yet God freely gives it to anyone who will confess His name and repent.
My application this week is to pray for my unforgiving heart to change and for compassion to flood my heart where bitterness was before.
“Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.”
“His fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt.”
I'll be referencing the passage of the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant from Matthew 18:25-35.
So I've been forgiven for a lot. I mean A LOT. God is so gracious and good and not only has He forgiven me but He has given freedom from sin and guilt and He has an amazing plan for my life that He wants me to walk in. He didn't say, “Okay I forgive you but you have to walk in the shame of everything you've ever done and because of your sin, you will never be able to do anything do with your life for My name.” No, that is the complete opposite of what He says. When I repent, He forgets my sin and casts it as far as the east is from the west! There is no record. No list of wrongs. I'm free; it's gone. Jesus took my sin upon himself so that I could have this amazing freedom and relationship with God! He himself bridged the gap that should never have been bridged because of my sin.
Okay, so now all of that being said, what right do I think I have to ever hold back forgiveness from someone and hang on to a grudge? No one could ever do anything that makes them too far gone to be forgiven. We've been forgiven from the unimaginable by a perfect God so why in the world do we think that we can not forgive. I'm not saying that people don't hurt us. Forgiving doesn't mean that what was done is okay. It means that you won't be corrupted by bitterness any longer. To forgive doesn't even mean to trust immediately or ever. But when we hold onto bitterness, we are the ones who suffer. Bitterness is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.
Hebrews 12:15 says,
“Looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled.”
Bitterness is a weed and it happens fast. We need to cut it out at the root so that it won't come back. Okay so back to the parable. One servant was forgiven from an incredible debt from his master but then turned around and demanded a debt be paid to him by a fellow servant who owed him so much less than what the first servant had just been forgiven of. We look at this at first glance and think he's crazy but we do this all the time. We have been forgiven from so much that we can't even put into words what our debt to Christ was, yet when someone slanders us or mistreats us or whatever they do, we hold grudges and throw temper tantrums and refuse to forgive. I am so guilty of this. I look at other people who are living lives of sin or who have wronged me and think, “Wow, how awful are they. I could never forgive them!” But why not? I have been forgiven of so much more! Lots of times I end up judging someone for living a life of sin that is so similar to the way that I used to live. What right do I have? I have been forgiven and given freedom beyond what I could ever deserve. I spit in Jesus' face and put Him on the cross yet I hold grudges for what could be compared to someone just stepping on my toes. This is something that I have to constantly remind myself. I have no right not to forgive. I don't deserve forgiveness any more than they do yet God freely gives it to anyone who will confess His name and repent.
My application this week is to pray for my unforgiving heart to change and for compassion to flood my heart where bitterness was before.
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