As we also forgive our debtors
Dr. Roberto Miranda
SUMMARY: The principle of forgiveness is essential in the Lord's Prayer. We need God's forgiveness and we also need to extend that same forgiveness to others. Forgiving others has a liberating and healing effect, while resentment is a poison that makes us bitter. Forgiveness brings us closer to God's nature, which is to forgive. If we learn to live lives of grace and mercy, we will receive the same from God and others. Let forgiveness flow from you like a clean pipe and it will be a source of refreshing water for your own life.
This is one of the most sublime expressions of the entire Lord's Prayer. It embodies one of the deepest and most exalted principles in the entire gospel: Not only do we need God's continued forgiveness ourselves, but we also need to extend that same privilege of forgiveness to others when they offend us.
It is about the two sides of the same coin. Being forgiven by God presupposes that we will be willing to forgive our fellow men. Forgiving others has the same liberating and healing effect as being forgiven by God. If we do not forgive others, we also cannot receive forgiveness from our heavenly Father.
Forgiving those who have offended us is one of the fundamental sources of mental and emotional health. On the other hand, resentment is a poison that settles within us and makes us both physically and spiritually bitter. He who forgives approaches the divine nature like no one else, since the very essence of God is, indeed, to forgive. The Bible declares: “The Lord is merciful and gracious; Slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. He will not contend forever, Nor will he keep anger forever ”(Psalm 103: 8 and 9). God is pure grace, and his mercy always triumphs over judgment.
If we learn to live lives of grace and mercy, we will receive grace and forgiveness from God and others when we, too, commit our own faults. Allow forgiveness to flow from you like a wide, clean pipe. That forgiveness and grace that you transmit to others will be in you a source of refreshing water that will allow you to navigate life with success and lightness of spirit.
It is about the two sides of the same coin. Being forgiven by God presupposes that we will be willing to forgive our fellow men. Forgiving others has the same liberating and healing effect as being forgiven by God. If we do not forgive others, we also cannot receive forgiveness from our heavenly Father.
Forgiving those who have offended us is one of the fundamental sources of mental and emotional health. On the other hand, resentment is a poison that settles within us and makes us both physically and spiritually bitter. He who forgives approaches the divine nature like no one else, since the very essence of God is, indeed, to forgive. The Bible declares: “The Lord is merciful and gracious; Slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. He will not contend forever, Nor will he keep anger forever ”(Psalm 103: 8 and 9). God is pure grace, and his mercy always triumphs over judgment.
If we learn to live lives of grace and mercy, we will receive grace and forgiveness from God and others when we, too, commit our own faults. Allow forgiveness to flow from you like a wide, clean pipe. That forgiveness and grace that you transmit to others will be in you a source of refreshing water that will allow you to navigate life with success and lightness of spirit.
