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)
Have you ever had a grudge against someone only to find out later they didn’t even know you were mad at them? How many hours of silent pouting and energy did you waste? How many sleepless nights passed as you replayed the offense against you? Maybe you think you are punishing them by holding onto the grudge. Yet, you are the one losing sleep, not them. Some people have been holding grudges for years against people they never saw again. A grudge hurts you and makes you a slave to the person you refuse to forgive.
Jesus tells us how to get past grudges against others. The Matthew verses above are really an explanation of a portion of the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6:12 where Jesus tells us to “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” Jesus then explains this principle in verse 14 saying, “…if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.” Jesus is not teaching here that people earn God’s forgiveness by forgiving others, for this would be a contradiction to God’s free grace and mercy. However, if we have truly experienced God’s forgiveness and understand how much God has forgiven us, then we will be willing to forgive others.
On the other hand, in verse 15 Jesus says, “But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” If someone has a hard time forgiving another person, do they really understand God’s grace and mercy to them? Do they see themselves as having been saved from death by His grace?
If you are a person who has a hard time extending grace to others and forgiving, a question to ask yourself is this: Do I really believe that all my sins are forgiven by God?
Colossians 2:13 tells us, “When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins.”
“All” means “the whole amount, the total sum”…All! Thank God today for His mercy and grace to you in forgiving all your sins. Then ask Him to show you anyone you need to forgive in order to get rid of your grudge. Sleep well!