Verse: Matthew 6:14-15
For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Devotion
This is a pretty harsh statement for me, and there have been many times that I have thought about it’s meaning and how it applies to me. I mean, I don’t personally see any way of getting out of this. It is directly and clearly stated that we must forgive and that if we don’t we ourselves will not be forgiven. Unforgiveness clogs up the works. If Jesus is our access to the Father(He is), the pipeline of grace, we can really mess with the flow by holding on to unforgiveness.
There’s something about unforgiveness makes me feel powerful. Like I have something that I can hold over another person, a way to feel better than them maybe? I don’t know what it is. But it is important to note that being forgiving, is not the sam thing as being a doormat. To forgive someone does not mean you continue to put yourself in harm’s way wi to a person who doesn’t care about your well being. Forgives is letting go of that thing that makes you feel you have something over them. You have to let it go and with it any feeling of superiority. We all have fallen short. But as a wise friend once said to me, forgiveness doesn’t make a person safe for you. So be wise and set boundaries when they are needed. But reconciliation is a beautiful thing, and when it is possible, we should try to accomplish that.
This is one of those devotions that could go on for pages and yet that’s not the kind of time we have today. I feel like I’m barely scratching the surface. But it’s a good reminder for when I feel I’ve got something I’m holding against someone, that I don’t want to clog up the pipeline to my own forgiveness. Because I know I need it.
Prayer
Holy Spirit would you highlight to me any places in my life where I am holding on to unforgiveness? Help me to give it to you.
Author: Emily Costa
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