To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.
Quote by Lewis B. Smedes
Forgiveness
Jeremiah 31:34
No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord ,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord . For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”
Ask me the greatest news to the world and I will give you this scripture. It was the day I was told my sins were forgiven. I didn’t know how, but something happened inside of me. I was happy, I felt an ethereal beauty in my entire being. God told Jeremiah the prophet to tell his people that He “will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more”.
The question I should ask from this point and time is, “What can hinder me from this benefit?” I don’t want to miss it. I want to be assured am free in the eyes of my maker. What kind of prayer should I offer before God? On the same subject, Jesus took us a little further.
Matthew 6:14,15
“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Here is the deal. My assurance of my forgiveness is based on my forgiving others. It will be measured back to me the same way I did to others. When I place a condition to forgive someone, the same condition is placed on me. If I forgive unconditionally, the same reciprocates back to me. To recapitulate Christ’s instructions on this subject, you can have what you need, assured of it, but not unconsciousness. You will do your part! Forgive others and you will be forgiven by our Father who is in Heaven.
Prayer:
Colossians 3:17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
