Unforgiveness

Forgiveness is important in a child of God to be able to grow spiritually. It is the law of love.

Matthew 5:44-45 ‘But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.’

You need to pray for those who persecute you. That is exactly what Jesus did. 

In the Old Testament we can find the laws that were given which stated an eye for an eye and tooth for tooth. But this was given to the people because their hearts were hardened. 
Mark 10:5 ‘It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law,” Jesus replied.’

In those days, people would marry and leave the woman to marry another. When this practice kept increasing, the law was given that they need to give a certificate of divorce to get this act under control. 

In the same way, the law stating an eye for eye was given because when a person hurts his neighbour, the neighbour would come back and hurt him, his wife and children and even burn down their house. It is to prevent that such a law was given by Moses. 

When Jesus Christ came to  Earth, he showed us the perfect example of what love and forgiveness means. 

Matthew 5:39-40 ‘But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well.’

Romans 12:21 ‘Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.’

When a person receives Jesus into their lives the first thing that he/she needs to do is forgive others. 

Ps. Finny was in Pune during his college days, and that was the time he received Jesus as his personal saviour. One of those days, he was touched by the Holy Spirit and he repented for everything that he had done during his early years. God showed him the many times he hurt his parents, told lies and many such incidents. 

The following day he wrote a letter from his heart to his parents confessing all the wrongs he had done and asking for forgiveness. A few days later during the vacation he went back home and as soon as he entered his house he fell at the feet of his parents seeking their forgiveness. 

When the Holy Spirit worked in his life and brought about repentance, he was able to ask for forgiveness. 
There is restitution in forgiveness. Forgiveness is not limited to words but also works. If you need growth in your life, you need to forgive and ask for forgiveness. 

The perfect example is that of our Jesus. He came down from heaven and became man to forgive us. How amazing is he!

If our Jesus can forgive then why can’t we his children do the same? 

John 13:4-5 ‘so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.’

Jesus wrapped a towel around his waist. That shows that he humbled himself to that of a servant. 

We need to learn from his example.

Do not harbour anger against others in your mind. 

In John 8 we read about the woman who committed adultery brought to Jesus by the Pharisees and teachers of the law. 
How did Jesus respond to that situation? 
John 8:7 ‘When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”

The Pharisees came with a legal question and Jesus replied with a morally based answer. 

When everyone was ready to crucify Jesus, all he did was pray to the Father asking him to forgive the people for they do not know what they are doing. 

1 Corinthians 6:7 ‘The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated?’

Illustration : There was a widow who used to earn daily wages by doing multiple jobs for her daughter and herself. She did not have a bank account so everyday she would set apart some of the hard earned money and give it to her neighbour who was a businessman for safekeeping. After many years when it was time for the daughter to get married, the woman went and asked the businessman for the money she had entrusted him with. She calculated and understood that by now she has saved up around 2 lakhs. 
When she asked him for the money, he said he did not have it as he was going through a financial crisis. 

The widow is not at fault here. If she wanted she could have approached politicians or police or even the law. But instead she called up a Pastor and told him the entire story. The Pastor told her to not worry and forgive him, because the God who created the heavens and the Earth is mighty to do miracles. She immediately called up the groom’s family to tell them that they were not going forward with the proposal as they did not have the required amount. 

And that is when God worked a miracle. The groom immediately picked up the phone and told the mother that he did not require a single penny from them. He also told them that he would take care of all the needs of the bride and the mother. 

Summary

If you are ready to forgive others, God will do mighty things in your life. Do not harbour angry and harmful things in your mind against others. You need to forgive others which will in turn help you grow spiritually.

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About The Author:

Dr. Damien Antony
Born and brought up in a Christian family, Dr. Damien Antony possessed an unquenching quest for truth right from his boyhood days and eventually his relentless search led him to the Bible. He is a Revival Preacher, Bible Teacher, Leadership Trainer, Author and a Life Coach. He moves under the anointing for Prophetic, Healing, Deliverance, Inner Healing and Financial Breakthrough. God has also blessed him with an Apostolic Mandate to take the Universal Body of Christ to the next level of revelation and anointing.