"But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too.” ~ Mark 11:25 (NLT)
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A spirit of humility is what strikes me when I read this verse, not so much a spirit of forgiveness. Surprised?
Forgiveness really stems from humility -- an acknowledgment that before a holy God, we are sinners -- period. I'm not better than my brother. I'm a sinner. And when I stand before God in prayer, what grounds do I even have for Him to bend His ear to me, except that I am cleansed by the blood of Jesus? Nothing. I have no merit of my own. I am naked before Him, only clothed in Christ's righteousness. And God forgives me! A holy God forgives a sinner like me! That is astounding . . . and humbling. Therefore, if I have nothing to justify myself before God and must come to Him in humility, knowing I am sinful, that recognition allows me to forgive others, one sinful man toward another.
It's when we forget who we are that we allow pride to hold onto anger and grudges in our hearts toward others. And God tells us there is a correlation between our own forgiveness and how and if we forgive others. If we simply look to ourselves and not the sins of others AND are honest with ourselves about our own faults and sin-sick hearts, we will more readily forgive the faults of others toward us. When we are able to truly grasp the fact that we are all peas in the same pod and realize that it is God's grace and mercy alone that saves each of us -- each pea in this pod, then we can move away from pride and prejudice and toward forgiveness and fellowship.
Jesus said it well, when He spoke on humility and honest personal assessment . . .
"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.
~ Matthew 7:1-3 (NIV)
Our sin against God cannot possible compare to another person's sin against us. I don't care how bad it is -- it can't compare. May we never forget who we are and where we stand before God when we are faced with forgiving someone else.
Love,
Joelene
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