Forgive, As I Have Forgiven You

I wrote a recent blog on the topic of forgiveness. It posed, and attempted to answer, the question Why Ask God for Forgiveness? After writing it, my excellent proofreader (That’s my wife, Heather) pointed out that if God forgives us, then we should also forgive others. And that should be in the blog, she said. Of course, she was absolutely correct. After thinking about it, I felt the topic deserved its own article. It is important for us to forgive others and there are a number of reasons that we should create within ourselves a spirit of forgiveness.

Forgiveness is difficult. It is against our human nature to forgive. We sometimes “soften the blow” by telling ourselves that “I’ll forgive but I won’t forget.” That attitude may indicate that forgiveness has not really occurred. We can’t forget what happened but we can change our feelings and attitudes toward the one who has offended us.  

Forgiveness is commanded by God. There are any number of verses that deal with our forgiveness of others. Two verses stand out to me. Ephesians 4:32 reads “Be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.” God has forgiven us, we are to forgive others. In Matthew, Jesus put it a little more bluntly. “For if you forgive other people for their offenses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive other people, then your Father will not forgive your offenses. (6:14-15). Failure to forgive is an indication you may not have fully accepted Christ as your savior.

Related to the first, if we don’t forgive, we have sinned. Disobedience to God is sin. 

To forgive enhances our spiritual growth. The writer of Hebrews (5:13-14) states “For everyone who partakes only of milk is unacquainted with the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to distinguish between good and evil.” We must be patient with new Christians. And new Christians must be patient with themselves.They are stepping into a new life with a new world view. They may not understand yet how to grow in Christ. Learning to forgive helps us grow as Christians.

When we forgive, it has a positive effect on our health and mental attitude. When we harbor a lack of forgiveness, we are filled with negative emotions. That can take a serious toll on our body, mind, and spirit. We are angry, anxious, maybe even depressed. As a result, we may have elevated blood pressure, a feeling of being out of control, helplessness, and stress. Although it was not a lack of forgiveness, I vividly remember the oral presentation of my dissertation. After feeling like I had been run through the wringer, I was dismissed from the room. I sat there more than a little anxious. I probably had elevated blood pressure. Then Dr. Gayle Rayburn stepped from the room, approached me and said “Congratulations, Dr. Stancil.” All my anxiety dissolved. It is the same with forgiveness.

Forgiveness is spiritual warfare. Christians know the outcome. Satan is defeated. Meanwhile, he is the god of this world. “He has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they will not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” (2 Cor 4:4). Satan would have us believe that lack of forgiveness is no big deal. But it has eternal consequences. Where you spend eternity is a big deal.

Forgiveness breeds in us a spirit of forgiveness. All of the above can be rolled into this one statement. We have all known people who have this spirit. I think it is summed up well in the song by Bill and Gloria Gaither “Sweet, Sweet Spirit.”

There’s a sweet, sweet Spirit in this place,

And I know that it’s the Spirit of the Lord;

There are sweet expressions on each face,

And I know they feel the presence of the Lord.

Sweet Holy Spirit, Sweet heavenly Dove,

Stay right here with us, filling us with Your love.

And for these blessings we lift our hearts in praise;

Without a doubt we’ll know that we have been revived,

When we shall leave this place.

There are blessings you cannot receive

Till you know Him in His fullness and believe;

You’re the one to profit when you say,

“I am going to walk with Jesus all the way.”

If you say He saved you from your sin,

Now you’re weak, you’re bound and cannot enter in,

You can make it right if you will yield,

You’ll enjoy the Holy Spirit that we feel.

Who do you need to forgive today? Don’t wait, do it now.

All scripture is from the New American Standard Version unless otherwise indicated.

Photo credits to Pete Linforth, Gerait Altmann, Christel, and Ken Haines from Pixabay.