God is crying out for everyone to be saved; He even sent His son Jesus to die on a cross so we can be forgiven, be set free from sin and have a wonderful relationship with our loving heavenly Father.

A lot of people say, ‘I can never forgive... you don’t know what that person did to me.’ It’s easy to feel that by not forgiving them you have some kind power over them. That may make you feel good at that time. It can feel like forgiving is to minimize what has happened.

However, not forgiving is like drinking a glass of poison in the hope it will kill the person that hurt you, but you are actually only destroying yourself and your relationship with our loving God.

God gives us a choice – and like all His choices, there are consequences to them. We can forgive and live in peace and have a stronger love for Him, or not forgive and live in anger, rage and hatred.

These feelings can put a blockage between us and our Lord. It is like wearing a lead plate apron like those that are used to stop X-rays in hospitals. Our unforgiveness will become a blockage between us and the freedom God wants us to live in.

It’s not Christ-like or healthy to live like this.

To forgive is not saying that what they did is ok, it’s saying: ‘I hand over the bad feelings that I am holding against this person at the foot of the cross.’ That is how we start to set ourselves free from bitterness and hatred. It’s not easy. It’s not a one-off action. It’s a process – which God enables at every step.

However, our experience is that forgiveness is setting the prisoner free … and then discovering that the prisoner was ourself.

To pray, ‘forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us’, is to join in with God’s work of setting us free.

Amen.

Pray for Five:

Please pray for your five people today – that they will discover God’s forgiveness in their own lives and be enabled to forgive others.