The Power of Forgiveness
Blessed is he whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is covered. — Psalms 32:1
Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors. — Matthew 6:12
Author
Nancy G. Marquez
Summary: Forgiving and knowing that we are forgiven lead us to inner peace, because a guilty conscience destroys that peace and becomes a heavy burden. The power of forgiveness springs from God’s promise of redemption and reaches its culmination at the cross, where Christ asked forgiveness for those who crucified him. Humanity seeks peace through military, political, economic, social, or religious power, but every effort apart from God is in vain. Without peace with God, we cannot have true inner peace or peace with our fellow human beings. God gave us the supreme example: by receiving his forgiveness, we find freedom; and by forgiving, we also set others free and are ourselves released from the prison of resentment.
One of the paths that leads to inner peace for human beings is forgiving and feeling forgiven. A guilty conscience is one of the most burdensome loads a person can bear. A guilty conscience destroys inner peace. Now then, how can we free ourselves from this sickness of the soul and be at peace with God and with our fellow human beings? By taking hold of the Power of Forgiveness. That power that can lead us to find peace of the soul, inner peace. That power that can shake the very foundations of the world. That power that had its origin in Genesis 3:15, where God gives the first promise of redemption to that couple, Adam and Eve, who had sinned. That power that reaches its climax, or culminating point, at the cross of Calvary. I am referring to the Power of Forgiveness! The same power that led Christ, the Son of God, to exclaim from the deepest recesses of His being: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
Humanity is constantly searching for the power that will enable it to attain peace. We see nations battling one another, seeking to be the strongest and most powerful. Power is sought through nuclear weapons—that is, military power—in order to obtain peace. Political, economic, social, and even religious power is sought. But everything that humanity seeks in order to find peace, if it is apart from God, is in vain. Humanity’s problem is that it does not have peace with God. And because it does not have peace with God, it does not have inner peace; consequently, it does not have peace with its neighbor or fellow human being. God Himself set the supreme example of forgiveness so that we too may receive and grant that forgiveness which produces inner peace, peace with our fellow human beings, and above all, peace with God.
God forgave me, and with that came my freedom; when I forgive, I not only set others free, but I myself am also set free, since refusing to forgive keeps us imprisoned. Let us receive forgiveness and learn to forgive; the power of forgiveness is available to us!