Sitting there, I could feel the darkness crawling all over my skin. What I was experiencing was a test of my faith. I was so afraid of what I was feeling. Would I be able to recover from the darkness that was taking hold of my heart? Would I be able to let go of the jungle of emotions that were encroaching on the fringes of my heart quickly taking up vacancy? In the past, I found myself in situations in which I was called to forgive, and I gladly did… but this time, it was different.
I could hear a still small voice saying “You will need to let it go and forgive.” At that moment, I could feel the tears rolling down my face, falling into each other as they made their way down. The pain was wedged so deep in my heart that my lips began to quiver, not from a natural cold but from the blizzard that was claiming my heart. Time stopped, and I knew the Holy Spirit was comforting me. In a still voice again, He whispered: “You can forgive because I am in you, and I will help you.” “You have been seeking me, and you know my heart and know what I require of you, my child.” I paused and thought, How can I be disobedient to my Heavenly Father, who has extended so much grace and mercy towards me? How can I not forgive when I have been forgiven so many times by my Heavenly Father?
In this season, I came to a crossroad where God held my hand and walked with me into freedom. A freedom that has released me to love outside of myself. I chose to let go and forgive, and since then, I have three reasons on why it is crucial to let go of people who cause me to hurt.
Forgiveness frees me to love like I have never loved before.
Forgiveness opens my eyes to the fact that humans are imperfect, and as a Christian, I am called to love individuals who are far from perfect like myself. Forgiveness pushes me to see humanity for what we really are, broken and in need of a saviour who can fit the pieces of our lives together. When I choose to forgive it frees me to see that we have all fallen short of the glory of God. When I choose to forgive, I can love those who hurt me. This loves comes from a place of understanding that humanity is flawed and hurting each other is not out of character for mere humans. An individual can only be sensitive to the hurt they might cause me if the Holy Spirit is at work in their hearts. People will hurt us, and we will hurt them because of our human nature. God has commanded us to love our neighbours like ourselves as we are all from the common stock… humanity.
God has set the perfect example for us to love people who we consider unloveable. He loved us and showed us mercy at our worst. Ephesians 2:4-5 “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. How can we choose not to love and to forgive when we have been shown love and forgiveness?
Forgiveness frees me from bitterness and anger.
I have learned that it is crucial for us to forgive and let go because when we do not let go of the pain and the hurt inflicted on us, we are hurting ourselves even more. We are compounding the situation because the anger that is left to fester will slowly eat away at our core, transforming us, at times, into a person that is easily angered, cold and insensitive. Anger and bitterness can send roots so deep in the ground of our soul that we are unable to love anyone at all. Anger and bitterness have no boundaries. In my own life and the lives of others, I have seen where anger and bitterness, if nurtured, flows over on those who have not wronged us. Anger and bitterness in our hearts does not stop with the people that hurt us. Ask yourself this vital question; What sense does it make to live to be angry with someone when most of the times they have moved on with their life? At times their intentions were even to inflict pain anyway. It is necessary for us to choose to let go and forgive by the help of the Holy Spirit and not to stay stuck in a place characterized by pain and suffering becoming stagnant and resentful when you could find that you are capable of loving more deeply beyond the pain and the hurt.
I am afraid not to show mercy when humanity is so flawed and fragile.
I have fallen short so many times and over and over again when I sincerely repent, my Heavenly Father has forgiven me. He never has and will never turn His back on me. He provides me with the opportunity to repent and be saved. I know I will never be perfect in this life because being human, I am a prime candidate for God’s grace and mercies that are new every morning. Who am I to withhold forgiveness from my fellow humans when I will never be perfect in this life? It would be foolish of me not to extend mercy to anyone when forgiveness and mercy are medication I will need for the rest of my life here on Earth? What if God had a cut-off point on forgiveness?
Lamentations 3:22-23 “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”
Forgiveness is a response of gratitude for God’s never-ending grace and mercy towards me. Forgiveness is a choice we are called to make as Christians. We are called to love and forgive those who have directly and indirectly caused us to hurt. Forgiveness is a divine prescription; we must all choose to take and live or reject and die. Jesus has given us the perfect example of what forgiveness looks like by paying our debt to God with His blood on the cross. We did not do anything to deserve His grace and mercy, but out of His abundance of love for us, He paid our debt in full. We are called to be like Christ, to love each other like He has loved us and is loving us. We must forgive those who have caused us to hurt.
Forgiveness is medication that we as Christians are called to take 70×7 per day when necessary or when needed to cure anger, bitterness, pain and rejection. Forgiveness is medication; we must take mostly for ourselves. It is treatment that all humans need since we are from a common stock with the propensity to hurt others or for others to hurt us.
Forgiveness is so potent that as Christians, lead by the Holy Spirit we can medicate ourselves from pain, hurt, rejection and bitterness that we might carry as a result of what others have done to us. Forgiveness even extends to the deceased who have hurt us and gone on.
Forgiveness releases peace and is the necessary ingredient to being forgiven.
Today as Christians let us forgive so that we can receive our forgiveness.
Bible Verses On Forgiveness
- Ephesians 4:32 “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
- Matthew 6:14 “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.”
- Luke 6:37 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.”
- Matthew 18:21-22 “Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, ‘Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?’ Jesus answered, ‘I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.’ “
- Psalm 86:5 “You, Lord, are forgiving and good, abounding in love to all who call to you.”
- Mark 11:25 “And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”
- Matthew 6:15 “But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”
- Psalm 32:1 “Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.”
- 1 John 1:19 “But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”
