To Forgive or Not to Forgive

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.”

When I became a Christian, I found the most difficult things God calls us to do is to forgive someone, forgiving what I felt had been unjustly done to me. I realized over time the devil blinds us with the lie: I am punishing my offender by not forgiving them. Yet because of my relationship with Jesus, I knew that it is the right thing to do because of what the Word says about forgiveness. (read Matthew 6:14-15)

I came to understand a lack of forgiveness had produced bitterness in my life, and that had put me in bondage. Unforgiveness had hindered me from moving forward in life by holding onto my resentment. When I asked the Holy Spirit to release me from prior hurts, He revealed the liberty that was paid for us on the cross through the blood of Jesus. When Christ gives us the command to forgive, He does not give it without already first demonstrating it for us. Forgiveness is a decision, not a feeling and we can forgive a person even if we don’t feel like it. Let compassion dominate as Jesus did for us! We can learn to let compassion rule our hearts as we follow after Christ’s model.

The Lord does not command us to do anything without supplying the necessary grace that we need to achieve it. (Philippians 4:13)