Forgiving
- Publication Editor
- May 16
- 2 min read
| Sermon Thought by PKD Lee |
Matt 18:32-34 - Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’ And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.
In the parable of the unforgiving servant, Jesus makes it clear that if we have not forgiven others their debts to us, we cannot have salvation. Yet, many Christians are unable to forgive. Why?
Some reasons are basic and should not apply to a Christian. If someone has stolen something from me, since I have placed Jesus above material things for me, I can forgive without a problem. If one is not able to forgive in similar cases as these, the very salvation they claim becomes questionable.
The second one where some struggle is when someone has spoilt my ‘reputation; by speaking something about me. My questions are two. Is my reputation dependent on what people say about me or my behaviour with people? My reputation is built more by my behaviour than what people say about me. If you challenge me saying that they should not be speaking about me, my response is if people are not speaking about you, it means your impact on society is zero, you may as well have not been there.
God has placed us among people to impact their lives by our behaviour and testimony. When people speak about us, they will say some things negative and some things positive. I recommend that we just ignore these as a part of life and not lose our peace of mind and freedom by carrying anger in our hearts.
Secondly, does my identity come from Jesus or from what people say about me? It needs to be my relationship with Jesus rather than what people say about me. When we have secure identity in Jesus, we can easily forgive those who speak negatively about us.
The last situation is the most difficult – forgiving an injustice done to me. That injustice may have resulted in some loss to me, but that I can forgive and forget, as I am no longer attached to material things. But the injustice hurts and lasts through our life. Sometimes it is an injustice of life and not done by anyone individual – like a chance happening. For the rest of my life, I carry the anger that life was unjust to me. I find most property disputes in families are not because people need the property they are fighting for, but because of the sense of an injustice having been done.
When we consider the injustice God suffered on our behalf, we realize that injustice is a part of life, and there is nothing to be gained by not forgiving apart from harming my health and peace of mind.
If God could do it willingly, it is an example for us to follow, and to live a cheerful, happy and contented life whatever the circumstances.
