What Is Forgiveness and Why Is It So Vital?

“He is so rich in kindness and grace that He purchased our freedom with the blood of His Son and forgave our sins.” (Ephesians 1:7 NLT)

Have you ever done or said something that literally at the second the words passed through your lips, or the deed was done, you knew it was a major mistake? How we wish we could have do-overs for those instances! Gratefully, that’s exactly what happens when we seek God’s forgiveness!

The word Paul uses in the verse above that’s translated “forgiveness” means: “remission, deliverance, liberty.” It means: “letting them go as if they had never been committed” (Strong’s). That’s why when we come to Jesus and ask for forgiveness of our sins, He can view us as if we’d never sinned, just like Him. We’re liberated from our sin debt, and it’s never remembered against us again. Wow! What a Savior!

That’s what the Lord wants to see happen between us when we forgive one another. And your knee-jerk response might be: “That’s impossible!” And you’d be exactly right, it is. But do you remember what Jesus said from the Cross in reference to those who had just put nails through His holy hands and feet? “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” Jesus never expects anything from us that He doesn’t model in His own life.

You may wonder how you’d ever muster the strength to forgive the person who did __________ to you (and you can fill in the worst thing that’s ever happened to you). You may not believe me but think about this for a minute. Jesus was sinless, we’re not, but He voluntarily bore the penalty for every sin we’d ever commit. How did He do that?

Colossians 1:19-22 says: “For God in all His fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and through Him God reconciled everything to Himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross. This includes you who were once far away from God. You were His enemies, separated from Him by your evil thoughts and actions. Yet now He has reconciled you to Himself through the death of Christ in His physical body. As a result, He has brought you into His own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before Him without a single fault.”

Though it’s impossible for us to understand, think about this: Jesus bore the weight of our sin in His body on the cross. Have you ever had someone walk on your back? Have you ever had an emotional trauma weigh on your soul? Think about the weight of the sin of billions of people upon your heart, mind, soul, and body. That’s what Jesus did to make it possible for us to be forgiven – and for us to forgive those who sin against us!

There are atrocities that my mind can’t comprehend that are committed every day in our world. Children are murdered in their mother’s womb; millions are kidnapped, raped, tortured, and murdered at the whim of the rich and powerful; lies are stated as truth from the mouths of the government and media, from those we should be able to trust; and we defile each other in ways that were unimaginable only a few years ago.

We live in a world that is circling the proverbial drain. Isn’t it time for those of us who profess the holy name of Jesus to get over ourselves and forgive each other? Can’t we muster the grace to obey the One who forgave us and lay down our “rights” to be heard? I hate the sin of others, but what makes me sick to my stomach and keeps me awake at night is the sin that lurks in my own soul.

The world will never come to Jesus unless and until they see a clear picture of Him in and through the lives of those of us who bear His Name. O God, help us!

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed