“For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” Matt 6:14-15 (NIV)
Would it not be hypocritical to receive God’s forgiveness personally and then refuse to extend God’s forgiveness to others? We do not earn God’s forgiveness by forgiving others, but we demonstrate God’s forgiveness as we forgive others. We are to forgive others instantly as a result of our being recipients of God’s instant forgiveness.
Forgiving those who have hurt you does not validate their behavior, but rather honors God by mirroring His forgiveness towards you. The grace and mercy that God lavishes on you becomes a blessing that flows through you to those who have wounded you. By extending forgiveness, you are allowing the life of Christ to be evident in you and through you.
Forgiveness is immediate; trust takes time. Just because you forgive someone does not mean that it is safe to trust that person. God is not asking you to extend forgiveness and then embrace a posture of vulnerability and susceptibility. You are to walk wisely. It takes time and multiple opportunities for a person to demonstrate trustworthiness. Just as you would not dare cross a bridge that is not deemed trustworthy, you would not trust an individual who has failed to be trustworthy.
Extend forgiveness immediately and then pray for the person you have forgiven. Ask God to transform the one you have forgiven and to help that person become worthy of your trust. It is possible that you may never trust that person again. However, extending forgiveness is not optional in God’s economy.
In my daily quiet time, I came across this question by Henry Blackaby that God is using in my life, “Would you want God to forgive you in the same way you are presently forgiving others?”
Pursuing God,
Stephen Trammell
Executive Pastor
Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell
28 replies on “Extending and Receiving Forgiveness”
buy cheap generic lasuna – diarex canada buy himcolin for sale
besifloxacin medication – cheap sildamax without prescription sildamax online
order benemid 500 mg pills – order benemid 500mg online cheap buy carbamazepine pill
order celecoxib for sale – indomethacin 75mg price how to get indomethacin without a prescription
buy mebeverine sale – buy mebeverine 135 mg online cheap pletal 100mg cheap
order voltaren 100mg online – diclofenac 100mg without prescription aspirin online order
rumalaya order online – order endep 10mg online oral amitriptyline
cheap pyridostigmine 60 mg – purchase mestinon generic imuran brand
order voveran sale – purchase nimotop pills order nimodipine generic
cost mobic 7.5mg – brand rizatriptan 5mg buy toradol pills for sale
buy cyproheptadine without a prescription – periactin price zanaflex tablet
cheap generic artane – voltaren gel order online order voltaren gel online
cefdinir 300 mg usa – cleocin order
buy isotretinoin 20mg online – order isotretinoin generic order deltasone 40mg sale
order prednisone 10mg for sale – buy elimite without a prescription order generic elimite
oral permethrin – purchase permethrin generic purchase retin sale
buy generic betnovate – buy generic differin for sale buy monobenzone for sale
buy generic flagyl over the counter – buy cenforce 100mg generic cenforce 50mg ca
oral augmentin – cheap levothroid sale synthroid 150mcg uk
oral cleocin – cheap indomethacin 50mg indocin brand
order losartan sale – buy generic cephalexin online keflex 125mg us
buy eurax no prescription – buy crotamiton generic aczone
modafinil us – order provigil 100mg buy melatonin 3mg sale
buy generic zyban – buy generic orlistat cheap shuddha guggulu
capecitabine pills – danocrine 100mg ca buy generic danocrine
oral prometrium 100mg – fertomid pills generic clomiphene
alendronate 35mg uk – provera without prescription order provera 5mg pill
how to get norethindrone without a prescription – buy generic lumigan over the counter oral yasmin