GodSprings - 18, May, 2017

What’s God’s Measure to Forgive Me?

And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors..

Matthew 6:12

Two little boys had quarreled. But the next morning, Johnny took his cap and headed for Bobby’s house again. Surprised, an older member of the family said teasingly, “What! Going to play with him again? I thought you quarreled only last evening and were never going to have anything more to do with each other. Funny memory you have.”

Johnny looked a little sheepish, dug his toe into the carpet for a moment, and then flashed a satisfied smile as he hurried away saying, “Oh, Bobby and me’s good forgetters.”

In this prayer, Jesus is not simply teaching us to ask for forgiveness but He qualifies the petition by adding ‘as we forgive our debtors.’ What does ‘as’ mean here. In Greek ‘as’ (hōs) means like. We are asking God to forgive us ‘just as’ or ‘in the same manner as’ we forgive others.

So when we pray this prayer it means – Dear Lord forgive me in the same way that I forgive my fellow brother or sister and if I’m hard hearted and unforgiving towards them then You apply that same standard toward me. Don’t forgive me.

Warren Wiersbe, in his book Prayer, Praise and Promises says “It’s easy to humble ourselves before God in seeking forgiveness in the vertical dimension. It is a much harder deal to do this in the horizontal dimension with our fellow being.”

Our natural tendency is to harbor resentment. But this prayer teaches us that we cannot do that. This prayer then in a way is the most practical thing in the world because it reminds us in our regular life of prayer that if we claim to follow Jesus we must, and this must is without an option, live a life of radical grace to our fellow beings. We must live a life of forgiveness.

One of the dialogues between Peter and Jesus makes this fact stronger. In Matthew 18:21-22 Peter comes to Jesus and asks ‘Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times? But Jesus answered, “I will tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.”

Peter asked this question with an intention to fix a limit on forgiveness. Peter thought and believed that the seven time standard was good enough. But Jesus blows up his understanding into pieces when He says seventy seven times. In other words Jesus says there is no limit on forgiveness. To highlight His point, Jesus tells the parable of the unmerciful servant (Matthew 18:23-35).

So the point is clear to us. This is what Jesus is teaching us. ‘Unless’ we forgive we can expect no forgiveness. This is not easy for us to do. At least I can say for sure about myself. We always spot the sins of our neighbours but we miss the log in our own eye.

Let us pray – Dear Lord, Thank You for the gift of forgiveness. Help me demonstrate unconditional love, even to those who hurt me. Help me release the hurt and begin to love as You loved.