Matthew 18
Freedom through Forgiveness!
Many years ago I had to learn in a very personal and costly way that forgiveness is central to the Christian life—the Lord asked me to contact a specific person and confess my sin against them and ask for their forgiveness. Yes, it was scary! Yes, it was humbling! But, more than any of that—it was liberating! There is freedom through forgiveness!
Matthew chapter 18 is filled with Jesus’ teaching on forgiveness. Verse 22 says we are to forgive, “not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” Verse 33 says, “Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you.” And finally verse 35 lands the plane for us, “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”
At the heart of our relationship with God is the issue of forgiveness—what Jesus has done for us and then, in response to God’s costly love, how we are to live toward one another. It is scary! It is humbling! But trust me when I tell you how freeing it is! Liberation—it’s V Day!
Don’t let bitterness and resentment get the last word in your life! There is freedom through forgiveness!
Seize the moment and pray about your next step in being set free through forgiveness—of yourself and others. Just as Jesus taught us to pray, “Forgive me of my sins as I forgive those who have sinned against me.”