Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. Indeed, what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ… (2 Corinthians 2:10) For a bunch of people who claim to follow a ressurected savior who chose to die for a bunch of backstabbers, looters, liars, and generally not so stellar personalities (this is you and me, I’m referring to), we do such a poor job forgiving other people for their supposed transgressions against us. Today, we need to reflect and change that because we are not forgiving our transgressors for their benefit. We are are forgiving their transgressions for our benefit. When we read this passage, we see that the Apostle Paul says forgiveness isn’t for the sake of the transgressor, after all, what care do they have in the forgiveness? Rather, the forgiveness is for the sake of the one doing the forgiving, and more importantly, the community of people involved in act of forgiveness through Christ. In fact, this truth becomes even more evident in the verse immediately proceeding this– forgiveness is just one method of sidestepping the snare of sin laid down by the devil. Forgiveness, as an act, is incredibly vital for our sake in Christ. In fact, it is one of the key differences between our God and all idols in this world. Only our God, although He doesn’t have to, comes down to earth to forgive, for our sake. He did not have to forgive, nor did we care to receive forgiveness. But God does it anyways. God forgives not only for our sake, but for His love’s sake– for His glory. Forgiveness only benefited God after He forgave our sins against Him. That benefit of forgiveness was justification to call us His children. Forgiveness changes our disposition, as an individual needing forgiveness, but also alters our relationship to the person or people we need forgiveness from. When we remember Jesus this week, we must aptly and promptly remember His forgiveness in our lives. Not because we are compelled to, but for our sake. When we forgive, we also benefit from the act of forgiveness stemming from our LORD and Savior, Jesus. Jesus manifests himself in our hearts and actions of forgiveness, steering us clear from the entanglements of unforgiveness, and arrogance of our unrepented sin. So, if you need a prompt to forgive, let this be the time and moment we stop hypocritically following Christ, and follow him on a journey toward forgiving. It will do you wonders.
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