In the Lord’s prayer, Jesus tells us that if we are to be forgiven, we must forgive others.
For some people, this is one of the hardest things a human can do. All of us have experienced being
hurt by another person, sometimes to a significant degree - but no matter how painful or horrible the
offence was against us - yet Christ says we are to forgive them. Why? Because if He could forgive
YOU for all the many, horrible, repetitive sins you’ve ever committed against HIM,
then you must likewise forgive OTHERS that have “trespassed against YOU”.
But this is not the end of the matter…
As today’s quote from Psalms illustrates, from God’s perspective after forgiveness
is given towards us, He also then pours out MERCY upon those that He has forgiven.
But what does that mean?
'Mercy' is defined in the Bible as the holding back of NOT GETTING the punishment that we
DO DESERVE for the wrongs we have done. Putting it bluntly,
while we all deserve hell for our sins, God not only forgives us, but then heaps upon us the
rich blessing of everlasting life for all eternity in a heaven so beautiful and glorious that
we cannot even imagine how wonderful it will be!
So now apply that same attitude towards the person that has offended and perhaps deeply hurt you,
and then heap mercy upon them! That is, instead of just forgiving (and then often forgetting and
usually distancing yourself from them), also have a like attitude of mercy towards them. This means
pray for them with an earnestness of love for their life. If they are not a believer,
pray for their salvation. If they are a mean, angry, or destructive person, pray for their healing.
In so doing, heap upon them loving mercy just as God has heaped mercy upon you.
Life is hard. In many cases, granting forgiveness towards those that have wounded us is even harder,
but once you do, not only will love flow in and through you, but that same healing balm will
touch those that need it most. This is the very definition of PEACE. At its root, when peace
comes between people, then there is WHOLENESS and with that oneness and restoration.
That my friends is God’s plan for us - and the whole world in a nutshell, just as Jesus said,
“Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on EARTH (with YOU), as it is in heaven (by HIM.)“
Like
