" Lord didn’t you see how he treated me? I am sure that you are not blind, don’t ask me to forgive him”, ”I can’t and I won’t never forget what she said about me, the hurt and the scars are too much”, ” I hate her for not seeing my efforts and for being ungrateful and unconscious”, “Lord, I love You but I can’t stand them, they are not worthy of my forgiveness ”. Those are the answers we throw at God’s face as excuses to not forgive others. We are all guilty. I am on top of the list. Most of the time we feel that we have all the rights to have that reaction.
Let’s do an exercise today. Consider the same sentences written up here and imagine Jesus saying them about you in a particular context : "Father don’t you see how they are going to treat me? I am sure that you are not blind, don’t ask me to forgive and to die for them”,"I can’t and I won’t forget what they said about me, the hurt and the scars are too much”,"I hate them for not accepting my sacrifice and for being ungrateful and unconscious”,“Father I love them but I can’t stand them nor their sins, they are not worthy of my death". Well, if that scenario happened as it was mentioned up here, you and I will not probably be saved today. God forgave us through the sacrifice of Jesus. He decided to let His love for us guide Him instead of our sins. He died for us anyway, He died for us in spite of. Psalm 32 verse 1 to 2 said : «Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight! Yes, what joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of guilt, whose lives are lived in complete honesty! When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long. Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me. My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat. Interlude Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.” And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone.
God put our sins out of sight. He made us joyful. He set us free. PLEASE GO AND DO THE SAME. Free somebody. Call, text or even plan a visit with that person. Give joy for the sake of the forgiveness you have received. Humbly ask the Holy Spirit to help you. He will be glad to. Forgive as you have been forgiven. By doing this you will look like your Father in heaven.
Don’t forget to also say sorry if you have to and to forgive yourself .