FORGIVENESS
Matthew 6:14
For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
Reflections: In this verse, it tells that I/you must forgive the wrongs that are done to us. And it does not say that we forgive after they say sorry or repent. It just says that we must forgive. Why? Because we are also forgiven by God. Jesus died for us without us asking for forgiveness first.
When I thought about it, it strikes me that although Jesus died for our sins, in order to be forgiven, one must receive the gift of forgiveness first.
I think of all those people that had made my life miserable. Although I had forgiven them, since I don’t have any contact with them, they don’t know that they are forgiven. Maybe they had forgotten already that they hurt me or have not the slightest idea that they even hurt me or just did not care if they did. But because I forgave them in my heart, I can come to the Father and receive His forgiveness. And for those that wronged me, I just put them in the hands of God and praying that they too will receive God’s forgiveness.
Since both you and I are still here on earth, we are going to get hurt by others in words or actions. We can be hurt by what others are not doing or by what they are doing or by their behavior towards us. We cannot please everybody and it is difficult to be everything for other people. Chances are we are going to hurt other people too since we are not perfect. So, as we forgive others, we should also ask forgiveness if we hurt other people. And most especially, ask God for forgiveness because we are still in the world and we will be tempted to sin all the time.
Application: I will forgive just as God had forgiven me. I will also ask for forgiveness if I did something wrong to others although it might be intentional or because I was angry and I wanted to take revenge. I will pray to God to open my eyes if I still have anger in me for someone so that I can forgive.
Prayer: Dearest Father in heaven. Thank You for giving Jesus to die for our sins. Thank You for the gift of forgiveness. I pray for me and my loved ones and my brother and sister in Christ to be easy to forgive. Ask for forgiveness if we have sinned against you or others. Let our hearts be pure and lovely and let Your desires be planted in our hearts. I pray for us to be merciful just You had shown mercy to us and still do. I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen