For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
-Matthew 6:14
We would do well to notice that this scripture is a postscript to Jesus teaching those following him how to pray. He gifts them the Lords prayer, a roadmap of communication with God and the only point he returns to annunciate immediately is this one on forgiveness. The significance of this cannot be overstated.
Jesus draws down on unforgiveness as forgiveness lies at the heart of the kingdom of God. Forgiveness is our reconciliation with God through the sacrifice of Christ. When we discount or reject the notion of forgiveness in one area of our life we discount it in every area. It is a rejection of the cross and all it represents. Not only that, it damages us in ways that can be challenging to comprehend in the stir of the moment.
A wise person once said harboring unforgiveness in your heart is like one man drinking poison and expecting the other to die. Never a truer word was spoken.
It would be difficult to find a greater poison than that of unforgiveness. It is the refuge of bitterness, resentment and discontent. They harbor there and encourage each other to overrun like unkept weeds that eventually strangle the love and the life out of you.
Today church as we pray, let’s search our hearts for unforgiveness and root out those weeds. Be surgical. Set aside your feelings of hurt and damage because justified or no they do not serve you well if they stand between you and forgiveness.
There is freedom on the other side of forgiveness church! Let’s pray it into our world and be a blessing to ourselves and to all those that come into our world.
Praying for you and with you church
Stephen