Forgiveness is an important topic and we treat it as a wholly voluntary thing. It is voluntary, but it is crucial to believers. Even so, we act as though it’s something we don’t really have to do.
The benefits of granting forgiveness to our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health are exponential. The difficult yet simple act of wiping an offender’s slate clear of all debt to you changes you—even when the offender has no idea of it.
Too often, though, we choose to relive the offense by refusing to clear the debt of the offender, not realizing that in most cases the offender either doesn’t know or doesn’t care—about us or the thing they have done. That doesn’t matter to our need to give forgiveness.
Think about this: Jesus said, “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you.”
Now think about what is implied here:
If you don’t forgive those who sin against you….
then what?
See? It’s extremely important to God.
Why is forgiveness so important to God? I’m taking a stab here, but I think it’s because He loves you. When He sees you hurting, your mind replaying that moment of hurt over and over, His heart hurts for you. When He sees you frozen and unable to truly live and enjoy life, His heart breaks for you. When He sees your inability to develop deep and lasting relationships, His heart weeps for you. He knows the cure for all that that pain has caused, and offers it to you: forgive.
When we wipe the slate clean, we are not saying that the offense was okay. We are not saying that it didn’t matter. It’s not saying that WE don’t matter. We ARE saying that we will no longer allow that offense or the one who committed it to have control of our lives, that we are releasing the need for repayment and putting our lives in the care and control of the Almighty.
Note: Forgiveness does not mean that you have to trust again or return to a buddy-buddy status. You can remain detached, but you must wipe that debt off the record.
Is there someone you have not forgiven for something—big or small? Today is the day to recognize that it is in YOUR best interest to forgive them. You’re not doing this for the other person, you’re doing it for you because YOU ARE WORTH IT!
Choose your own forgiveness today by forgiving those you’ve been withholding it from.
Coffee, Bible, Journal.
Be sure to subscribe to my YouTube Channel where you’ll be able to hear more from my scripture devotions.