On Sunday, we explored the importance of initial and ongoing forgiveness in the pursuit of emotional and relational healing. Corrie Ten Boom struggled with this as most of us will from time to time. In my study, I found the following quote from Martin Lloyd Jones to be helpful and convicting.
It means that the proof that you and I are forgiven is that we forgive others. If we think that our sins are forgiven by God and we refuse to forgive somebody else, we are making a mistake; we have never been forgiven. The man who knows he has been forgiven, only in and through the shed blood of Christ, is a man who must forgive others. He cannot help himself. If we really know Christ as our Saviour our hearts are broken and cannot be hard, and we cannot refuse forgiveness. If you are refusing forgiveness to anybody I suggest that you have never been forgiven … I say to the glory of God and in utter humility, that whenever I see myself before God and realise something of what my blessed Lord has done for me, I am ready to forgive anybody anything. I cannot withhold it; I do not even want to withhold it.
So, my prayer when I need to forgive others is not that I would have what it takes to forgive, but that I would more deeply see and savor the One who died so that I could be forgiven. And when I see what Jesus has done, I am ready and willing to forgive others.
May it be, Lord…May it be.
