Week 16
Forgiveness
Forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us.
Matthew 6:12 (NLT)
My father was an alcoholic. My mother was a depressed woman. I dreaded nights when I was young. The anxiety I experienced usually soared when the sound of my father clearing his throat reverberated as he entered the house drunk. Soon, he disturbed the quiet night with his complaints, accusations, and hostility. My brother said he often had to carry me outside because I was crying so hard as I got scared and upset. For the longest time, I hated my father. Then, I heard this quote by Lewis Smedes, “I have never met a person who hated his father or mother who did not also hate himself…” God did not create me to hate myself. To work on loving myself means to work on forgiveness in my life. Forgiveness is not saying it was okay or it didn’t hurt. True forgiveness requires getting in touch with the deepest pain the offense causes and releasing the right to get even with the offender just so we can be freed from the poison of hate and resentment. True forgiveness can only be transpired and materialized by a power greater than us from our Lord Jesus Christ, the ultimate Forgiver. The wonderful gift of forgiveness is that it sets us free.
Lord, today, please free me from the prison of unforgiveness. In Jesus’ Name, I pray. Amen.