"For if you forgive others their trespasses [their reckless and wilful sins], your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others [nurturing your hurt and anger with the result that it interferes with your relationship with God], then your Father will not forgive your trespasses."
Matthew 6:14-15 The Amplified Study Bible
When reading The Lord's Prayer in the Amplified, it reads, 'And forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven our debtors, [letting go of both the wrong and the resentment] Matthew 6:12. When we pray The Lord's Prayer, as directed by Jesus, we need to realise that He takes this very seriously indeed. In this part of the prayer, we are actually asking God to forgive us our sin and confessing that we will forgive people who have sinned against us. This means forgiving and forgetting!
When other people have hurt and offended us, it is so easy to hang onto this hurt, nurture it and allow our anger and frustration to interfere with our relationship with Jesus. We quite simply are saying, 'Lord, please forgive me as I have forgiven so and so etc. But if we have not forgiven them, God knows and He will not forgive us either. We cannot pray this prayer if we are not willing to forgive and forget what someone else has done to us. It is not possible. Therefore, Jesus gave us verses 14 & 15 above and quite clearly establishes His position on this matter.
When we fail to forgive someone, it can become like a root of bitterness that will begin to build up until, we are riddled with the thought of it all. Every time we see or think about the person, we may avoid them or make it apparent that we do not wish to speak with them. We may also have mental conversations with them when we are alone. How can we fellowship with someone when we feel this way? Furthermore, how can we love them as Jesus clearly tells us to do in John 15:9-17?
Don't become trapped into saying this prayer if you are holding a grudge against someone. If you can approach them and openly forgive them, do so. However, this is not always possible, especially if the person lives away, or if they believe that they are not guilty of offending you. At times like this, speak to God and tell Him that you forgive them and choose to forget about the matter. Then leave them to Him. Then get on and enjoy your relationship with Jesus.
Copyright 2021 Grahame Howard
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