No way am I going to forgive them again!

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Title: No way am I going to forgive them again!

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Micah 6:8 “...and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy...”

We’ve been looking at what God requires of us, and one of those things is that we are to “love mercy.” While that may or may not include some things, it certainly includes forgiveness…that old stumbling block in so many of our lives. It isn’t easy to forgive the people who disappointed or purposely hurt us, is it? Yet the Scriptures are clear that God requires us to forgive them.

More than that, it's a condition for our receiving God’s forgiveness. Wait! Isn’t forgiveness a free gift? Sorry to disappoint you, but I’ve searched diligently for one time…just one time…that the Bible says our forgiving others is not a requirement if we want to be forgiven. It just isn’t there.

In Matthew 6, Jesus taught His disciples the prayer we call The Lord’s Prayer. In verse 12, He says, "And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors," meaning in the same way and in the same spirit. Then Jesus adds, “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” (Matt 6:14-15)

I think this “percolated” in Peter’s mind until he went to Jesus with a question. Jewish law required him to forgive someone three times, so Peter thought he was generous when he asked Jesus if he should forgive his brother seven times. According to Jesus, though, that didn’t even come close. His response was, “not seven times but seventy times seven.” In other words, there isn’t a limit. (Matt 18:21-22)

But what if the people who hurt me aren’t sorry? What if they haven’t apologized, or they didn’t mean it when they did apologize? Doesn’t Luke say we only have to forgive them if they repent? It would seem so, but think about it.

Repentance is a change of mind and heart that results in a change in behavior. Without the change in behavior, is there any real repentance? And if that person “trespasses” against you seven times in one day and says, “I repent,” how much real repentance is there? Of course, there is none at all, but we are to forgive them anyway. No wonder the disciples replied, “Lord, Increase our faith.” (Luke 17:5)

I’m not saying our broken relationships will be magically “fixed” when we forgive the people who hurt us. That probably won’t happen because it takes two healthy people to have a healthy relationship. However, that forgiveness part isn’t about anyone else but you and me. And it really doesn’t matter whether the people are sorry they hurt me because forgiveness isn’t about them at all.

It’s about me and my willingness to obey the God who redeemed me. It’s about remembering what I was before Christ rescued me and forgave me. It’s about remembering where and what I would be today “but for the grace of God.” It’s about remembering that I fail the Lord every single day, and I need His mercy when I do. It’s about answering the question Christ asked in Matthew 18:33: “Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you?” (NASB)

Challenge for Today: What might happen if we, just for today, chose to show mercy to others the same way God has showed mercy to us?