Forgive: How Can We Afford Not To?
By Martha Noebel

Forgiveness is hard to do, but with God's help we can.

Forgive them? I can't. They make me so mad. You just don't know what they did to me. It's not fair.

Have you ever heard those words before? Forgiveness is hard to do, but with God's help we can. To forgive means to pardon or excuse, no longer to blame or be angry with someone who did you wrong.

"For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins" (Matthew 6:14-15, NIV).

God tells us that forgiveness is not an option if we want God to forgive us. We are not perfect, since we all make mistakes. We will not all agree on everything all of the time. We must understand that and learn to forgive those who intentionally or unintentionally hurt us. Yes, we may have a moment of anger, but we must not become a slave to that anger. We need to repent for harboring bad feelings against others so that we can be set free.

If we continue to have bitterness in our hearts and lives, we do not show the love of God. It can make us spiritually and physically sick.

The Bible tells us in 1 Samuel 16:7 that the Lord looks at the heart. What does He see when He looks at your heart? We want to have clean hearts and hands when we stand before God. The psalmist David said, "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me" (Psalm 51:10). And David adds, "Who may climb the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? Only those whose hands and hearts are pure…" (Psalm 24: 3-4a, The Book).

We want to stand before God and know that He is pleased with us. We don't want to carry the sin of unforgiveness in our hearts. When we pray, we want to know that God will answer our prayers. We certainly don't want this willful act to hinder our prayers.

"And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins" (Mark 11:25).

The Word of God tells us that we can not even say we love God if we have hate for someone else (1 John 4:20). So what must we do? Colossians 3:12 tells us to "clothe yourselves with compassion." Philippians 2:4 says to "look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others." Galatians 6:2 instructs us to "carry each other's burdens…." Ephesians 4:32 declares, "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other just as in Christ God forgave you."

The lines are drawn; the word is clear. We must forgive! No matter the offense, no matter how much pain we feel, we must forgive. We can't take revenge or even gloat when our enemy falls (Romans 12:19-21, Proverbs 24:17).

Ask God to fill you with His love for those who have offend you. Learn to walk in love and peace. You will be glad you did.

cbn