MEMORY VERSE: “And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses”. Mark 11: 25 NKJV.
“For God so much loved the world” (John 3:16).
This was the very act that revived the hope of reconciliation and saved humanity from God’s wrath. It is the demonstration of God’s unfailing love to underserved sinners to be made right with God (Ps 103:8-10), for by it, we have become citizens of heaven. Immediately after salvation, there began a working in us with a sole goal of getting us conformed to the image of God's dear Son- Jesus. (Rom 8:29). God in this conformation exercise strategically sits on our life as a refiner and reformer (Mal. 3:3) to put into subjection our carnal nature (that find it difficult to forgive) and then input His attributes in us so that we could radiate His light to the world around us.(Matt.5:16). True and sincere forgiveness is an attribute which can only be possible in love for God is love.
Forgiveness is from the Greek word “synchoresi”, which means “to let go”, Forgiveness is an act of freeing one’s heart from anger, bitterness or offence for a wrong done to us by another person. It entails allowing the peace and joy of the Holy Spirit to replace every form of bitterness of the heart. Our Lord Jesus wants us to forgive as He exemplified (Lk.23:34, Mk.2:5) so He made it a mandatory lifestyle for every of his followers as communicated in Matt.18:21-25. Anyone who obediently subjects himself or herself to the dealings of God as to forgiving every wrong done to him or her has the promise of a granted forgiveness from our father who is in heaven. Forgiveness is a necessary attributes of a Christian that is ready to do the work of reconciliation that has been given to us (2Cor5:18) because one cannot be judgmental and be redemptive simultaneously.
We pray that God will cause this divine nature to be formed in us as we continue in this study in Jesus’ name. (Amen)
FROM A HEART OF LOVE
The Holy Spirit produces numerous fruits in us to affirm that we are God’s children (Gal 5:22-23), but of all these, love is the greatest and the bond of perfection (John 13:35, 1Cor 13:13, Col 3:14). There is no way we will talk about forgiveness without first talking about love, for forgiveness is a product of God’s love in us, therefore it is one of the evidence of God’s Spirit at work in us, for this we know that we obtained forgiveness through God’s love (Ps 32:1-2). Now, we live in this consciousness that forgiveness is a fruit of love. It is God’s way of delivering men from the captivity of sin and also a way of comforting those living in the fear of condemnation and discouragement (Gen 50:15, 19-21, 2 Cor.2: 7-8), by so doing, reaffirming God’s love for them lest they be overcome by the feelings of guilt that comes from the devil. Forgiveness is not an option for Christians but a commandment from God that demands loyalty from all God’s people (Luke 17:3-4, Col 3:13).
FORGIVENESS: KINGDOM LIFESTYLE
Notable is some of our fathers of faith who exhibited a lifestyle which is in similitude to that of those the Bible calls the 'elects of God' (Col 3:12-13). As elects of God, they joyfully adopted and exhibited all the attributes of 'light bearers' which in turn made them shine on even after the physical death. Stephen, although in agony, forgave his persecutors that arose and set up false witness against him when he was being stoned (Acts 6:9-11). He was able to do this because he found forgiveness as an indispensable part of his Christian life.
Our Lord Jesus is not an exception in this case: He, at the point of crucifixion cried to His father for the forgiveness of His persecutors and the dying world (Luke 23:34). What a loving Saviour! Until we sincerely and carefully long for a heart of forgiveness, we would only continue to learn it but find it difficult to express its truth in reality (2 Tim 3:7).
THOUGHT: When I forgive, is it genuine?
FORGETFULNESS: AN ESSENTIAL PART OF FORGIVENESS
There is no doubt to the fact that bitterness and anger may occur in one's heart when wronged but what matters most is that it is not allowed to linger. In other words, anger is not a sin but a protracted anger may lead to sin. (Eph.4:26). A Christian who is growing up to maturity in Christ must not accommodate resentment or grudge, no matter how grave the offense may be. This does not imply that a remembrance of an ugly past incidence would not occur but that when it comes the joy of the Lord should replace every bitterness that wants to dominate. When this is achieved conveniently by the help of the Holy Ghost, we can be sure that we have attained a higher height in terms of spiritual growth and that our light shines more and more (Pro 4:18).
REWARDS FOR FORGIVENESS
The ability to forgive takes both the grace of God and our willingness to walk as children of light (Eph.5:8).
Some of the rewards for forgiving others are listed below:
Receive forgiveness from God. Matt 6:14
Answered prayers. Mark 11:25.
Translation from darkness to light. Acts 26:18
Fellowship with the Holy Spirit. Gal 5:25
Attainment of the stature of Christ. Eph.4:13.
CONCLUSION: “Let all bitterness, and wrath and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be you kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.” Eph.4:31-32
Yours Sincerely
