Choosing to Forgive

What have been the biggest hurts in your life? What has been done to you that has affected your life in a negative way? Let’s search our hearts and think about it. Think of someone who has done something to you that in your eyes is unforgivable.

Forgiveness is a supernatural work of God. God is the one who enables us to forgive. However, we must make the choice to forgive. We must do the impossible. We must forgive the unforgivable. We have to remember that our most unforgivable sins have been forgiven us when we have asked God for forgiveness in Jesus’ name. Christ paid for every single sin upon the cross, both ours and others. Since Jesus paid such a high price for every sin of the world, not to forgive others is not to accept the blood offering of Jesus for every sin. Just as we believe in Christ for the remission of our sins, we must believe in Him for the forgiveness of other’s sins as well. We look to Christ alone.

Romans 5:8

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

John 20:22-23

And when He (Jesus) had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
This is significant that Jesus talks about forgiveness right after He breathes on the disciples to receive the Holy Spirit. Now that we have the Holy Spirit we can do the impossible, we can forgive the unforgivable.

Matthew 19:26
But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

We must forgive ourselves also. When God asks us to forgive others I believe that He also asks us to forgive ourselves. We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

Romans 3:23

“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

Just as we must love others as ourselves, we must also forgive others as we forgive ourselves.

Leviticus 19:17-18
‘You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your neighbor, and not bear sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.”
God is the only one who is not in need of forgiveness, so when we have a problem with God we can always rest assure the problem is not with God, it is with ourselves.

We must not view people in terms of good or bad. We all do very good things and very bad things sometimes, and everything in between. We must not hold a very bad thing someone has done against them, because then we will never be able to experience the very good things that are still in store for us when we receive reconciliation. We have to be real, though. There will be some instances where we will not be able to receive reconciliation. However, we should always seek it if possible.

Romans 12:18
“If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.”

God would rather have us living at peace with each other than giving Him worship and praise and not living at peace with our brother.
Matthew 5:23-24
“Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.”

1 John 4:20-21

“If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.”

Over and over Jesus prayed to the Father for unity for us, that we would be one as He was one with the Father.

John 17:20-23

Jesus Prays for All Believers
“I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.”

If we follow the two greatest commandments we will have to forgive others. If we love God first He enables to forgive others and love them supernaturally with His love.

Jesus said:
Mark 12:30-31
“And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

Jesus also said:
Matthew 6:15
“But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”

Let’s pray for unity and let’s pray for the love of God to descend upon our hearts supernaturally allowing us to forgive in His power.

Dear Abba Father, please help us oh God. We cannot do anything without you, least of all forgive others. Bring us into your healing presence where the supernatural lives. Heal our hearts and do a supernatural work in our hearts that allows us to forgive. Help us make the choice to forgive. We thank you for the forgiveness we have found in you that we in no way deserve, yet we trust in your unfailing mercy. We look to you alone for everything we need. We know that there is no other answer for us besides you and you are our only hope. We look to you alone. DO your healing work in us and continue the work you promised you would complete. We pray all these things in Jesus’ name. Amen!