Forgiveness Lets You Go Free

By Greg Sanders

We all want the freedom of forgiveness. We all know what it is like to be in need of forgiveness. At some point in your life you responded or acted in a manner that you regretted and you needed someone to forgive you. Personally, those are not just a few events. Regrettably I constantly have to go to God and go to people to seek forgiveness.

Jesus said in Mark 11:25 But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too.” It is as if Jesus knew that a lot of our praying would have to do with us coming to Him to seek His forgiveness. He says the key to receiving His forgiveness is for us to forgive others. Most of us don’t like the idea of forgiving others. We fear that if we forgive them we are excusing them. We are denying the hurt they caused us or that we are letting them off the hook from the pain of their failure. But Jesus said that when you forgive them, you are not letting them off the hook, you are letting yourself off the hook. For as you forgive them, that is how your Father will forgive you.

Let me ask you a question. What kind of forgiveness do you desire from your heavenly Father? Do you want to be forgiven but have your failure brought back up at a later date? Do you want forgiveness but yet still be liable to pay for every misdeed you have done? Do you want forgiveness that requires a quid pro quo? I hope not because we really have nothing to offer God. If we are honest with ourselves, we want to receive the kind of forgiveness that only comes from God. He said in Isaiah 43:25 “I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.

He blots out our sin and chooses to remember it no more. That is the type of forgiveness we must offer to one another. The great thing is that when we offer His forgiveness, we are also guaranteed to receive it for ourselves.

Today’s Challenge: Is there a grudge you have been holding against someone? If so, release it and forgive them today so that you may receive the refreshing of the Lord.

Blessings,

Greg