“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” Ephesians 4:32 NIV
We are to forgive on the grounds that God has told us to forgive. If you refuse to forgive others you are doing two things: First, you are disobeying God for He has told us in His word that we are to forgive. Second, when we refuse to forgive, we are setting ourselves up as god, we have decided to hold someone to a higher standard that even we could not live up to. We have said to God that He does not understand, He does not know what they have done or how they do not deserve forgiveness. If a person is to judge it is God who will Judge them, it is not for us to try to hold them accountable. When we have unforgiveness in our lives it is our attempt to make sure they do not, “get off the hook.” The desire to punish those who have hurt us places us in having a sense of moral superiority without allowing grace.
“Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.” Romans 12:19 NIV
Refusing to forgive, enslaves us to ingratitude, binds us up in rage and/or bitterness and throws away the key to freedom. Forgive others: we are not God and it is not our place to hold people accountable for sin, and second because He has told us to forgive. He has put it in a very clear and strong way, if you want God to forgive you, you must forgive others.
Let God’s love fill you, control you, encounter the freedom that comes from practicing grace-both received and given by forgiving others as God has commanded…it is at the heart of our Christian faith.
“For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” Matthew 6:14-15 NIV
Anchor In The Storm 