Colossians 3:12-13, “Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.”
As we said yesterday, forgiveness and reconciliation are essential elements of Christianity. To be a Christian is to have asked and received God’s forgiveness for personal sins and to be reconciled to God. All of this is accomplished by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. Praise God! Let’s also honor God by recognizing and living according to the truth that those who have been forgiven and reconciled are to be walking, talking demonstrations of forgiveness and reconciliation. We are to verbally communicate the message of forgiveness and reconciliation, and we are to personally demonstrate forgiveness and reconciliation through our relationships with others. This is a truly fantastic truth, and oftentimes a genuinely difficult concept to grasp.
Forgiveness is desperately needed but routinely despised. We often view those who seek and grant forgiveness as weak individuals, while those who are unforgiving are often viewed as strong. We celebrate TV and movie characters who take their vengeance. NCIS’ Leroy Jethro Gibbs’ Rule #6 was: “Never apologize. It’s a sign of weakness.” That wasn’t original to that character. In She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, John Wayne played Captain Nathan Brittles who often said, “Never apologize, mister. It’s a sign of weakness.”
But someone greater than these has said, “Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy,” and “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God” (Matthew 5:7, 9). This same Hero taught us to pray like this, “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors,” and He followed up that lesson with this thought, “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matthew 6:12, 14-15).
It is a sobering truth that we believers will forfeit God’s blessing and invite His discipline in our lives if we fail to forgive others and seek reconciliation. Any unwillingness on our part as believers to withhold forgiveness is a blatant, open act of disobedience and rebellion against God. The Bible calls Christians to forgive one another as Christ has forgiven each of us, and, like salvation, that is impossible apart from the empowering grace of God. Nothing breaks the chains of fear and doubt, bitterness and resentment like forgiveness. Come to Jesus and be forgiven. Follow His example, and by His power, forgive others.