Letting Go
… be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another even as God in Christ forgave you. (Ephesians 4:32)
In the physical world, we learn to keep everything that we get into our hands, we keep it as a reserve for when we might need it. Many people have kept material items for a rainy day which never comes around, and all this is from how we have been socialized with a scarcity mindset, our security is hinged on what we have kept for ourselves. Fortunately, for the physical items we can see what we have accumulated, maybe it is a moment for reflection on what else we keep.
Unfortunately, accumulation and hoarding of everything in our path does not just happen in the physical world but also in our spirits. Our experiences and emotions are stored in our hearts and they influence how we relate in the physical, that means a greedy heart will be known by the greed that the individual exhibits in his life. I wish today to dwell for a moment on unforgiveness which we tend to keep in our hearts as we relate to others and many of us find ourselves guilty of this vice. There are people who will openly say that they cannot forgive someone else no matter what. This is a decision, a choice made not to forgive another person and to hold the unforgiveness as a badge in one’s heart. It is in relation of this, that my heart is quickened to the words, “let go”.
I am encouraged that the question of forgiveness is not a struggle for me only, but was also raised by the disciples of Jesus as presented by Peter (Matthew 18:21-22). Peter enquired about forgiving others and the frequency which Jesus would recommend, he was looking for guidance, but I also think, he wanted to know at what point he would be justified not to forgive any further. Jesus in His response clarified to him that we need to forgive a whole lot more than he had expected, not seven times but seventy times seven – 490 times !!!. This is an almost impossible task humanly speaking, how do you keep a tally of all the opportunities for forgiveness extended to an individual?. In giving this number, Jesus was simply saying, there is no limit to the number of times that we should forgive others.
Beloved, we cannot hoard forgiveness, it is not to be denied. Difficult instruction? yes, but it is for our good that we obey. Jesus gives us a strong reason for why we should forgive others, so that our Father in heaven will also forgive us (Matthew 6:14). Forgiving others becomes a condition on which our own forgiveness is premised, we receive God’s forgiveness to the measure that we forgive others. That is a tall order for many including myself, and were it not for the mercies of God, none of us would satisfy this requirement. We all desire forgiveness from God for our sins, and from others we are wrong. The message of this verse is that we cannot expect to receive what we cannot give, (Luke 6:37) tells us the same thing. (Mark 11:25) reminds us to forgive others when we are expecting God to forgive our trespasses. It occurs to me that there is something about forgiveness then, the bible does not repeat itself for nothing, it does so to make sure that we do not miss on the import of the matter discussed.
Forgiveness could be particularly difficult to give when we feel that the wrong to us is unjustified, it is common that we tend to sit in the unforgiveness space for a while and this raises bitterness in our hearts. When we however look at our lives in light of God’s word (1 John 1:9-10) we cannot but admit that we are in need of forgiveness and so we cannot deny others forgiveness. It has been said that when we forgive others, we set ourselves free, yes the burden in our hearts is lessened, we might never forget the wrong done, but it’s pain is released. Forgiveness is a choice we make to set ourselves free, to stand up tall and acknowledge that we are complete in Christ Jesus. When we forgive others, we enjoy the freedom and the joy of the Lord, as our hearts do not accuse us (1 John 3:21) giving us confidence with God. We can then come to God taking the position of being upright in heart (Psalm 32:11) to the glory of God.
Beloved let us free our hearts of the baggage of unforgiveness and bitterness.
Let us “Let go” as we do it our Father’s way.
Thoughts:
What hurt are you still holding on?
Who has wronged you so much and you need to forgive?
Do you need to talk to God for the grace to forgive?