Need for Forgiveness

We all need forgiveness because we all have had moments we messed up. Our hands in the cookie jar, insensitivity to a friend, mistake at work, unfaithfulness to a spouse, sin towards God. In fact the Bible says: "We all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23) Forgiveness is God's remedy for our mistakes. "Blessed is he who has forgiveness of his transgressions continually exercised upon him, whose sin is covered." (Psalm 32:1) We may try to cover up our shortcomings with excuses, lies and denials, but the only true and permanent covering for them is the blood Jesus shed for our sins. "The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses (removes) us from all our sin and guilt [keeps us cleansed from sin in all its forms and manifestations]." (1 John 1:7 AMP)

 

Not only do we need God's forgiveness, but we should also emulate Him by extending forgiveness to those who hurt, mistreated, and wronged us.         ". . .Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors." (Matthew 6:11-12)   

 

An Absolute Miracle

Forgiveness is not a mere human quality or achievement ability. It is not a mere decision you come to for the sake of humanity. It is a God thing, truly an absolute miracle of God. He enables you to freely forgive. Forgiveness is not an endorsement or approval of bad behavior. It is not an empowerment to those who hurt you. When you forgive them, you actually allow the Lord to sever the soul ties and connections there are between you and that pain / hurt / negative situation and person. "Judge not and you will not be judged; forgive and you will be forgiven, release and you will be released." (Luke 6:37) Forgiveness activates freedom in your life. Freedom from past hurts and disappointments. Freedom to boldly explore the beautiful future God has planned for you. Freedom from manipulative individuals that harm and hurt so many. Those unholy connections that anchored you to brokenness are severed and now you can be anchored to what is sound and beautiful to make your life complete. Forgiveness is a cooperative endeavor. When you forgive, you are forgiven. This is very powerful. Your simple act of forgiveness will release you and the person on the other end of the soul-tie. Your letting go of the rope ends the tug of war!

 

Gain Advantage Over Your Enemy  

"If you forgive anyone anything, I too forgive that one; and what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sakes in the presence of Christ. To keep Satan from getting the advantage over us; for we are not ignorant of his wiles and intentions." (2 Corinthians 2:10-11) Unforgiveness gives the enemy a head start over you everyday. When you harbor bitterness, resentment and unforgiveness towards someone you are actually allowing Satan to gain an unfair advantage over you. His temptations will be especially hard to refuse, and unholy emotions (anger, rage, fear) will easily flood your heart. Do not give the enemy a favorable, inside lane in the race of life. When you forgive the opposite is true. Now you are the one with the advantage! You have the head start. You are not playing catch up any longer. Now you are better equipped to effectively deal with any and all of his intentions and wiles in your life!       

 

Science of Forgiveness

The Bible says that the heavens declare the majesty and glory of God. Allow me to explain to you the miracle of forgiveness with a look at the science side of it. Sharon bought me a telescope to gaze at the stars. I remember the first time I directed it to the starry night I felt like an Abraham looking at God's promises. One night looked at the full moon through my telescope. I could clearly see all the craters on the moon's surface not visible to the naked eye. Then the Lord started to speak to me. With my telescope I could zoom in to see the reflection of the sunlight as it bounced off the moons surface. If I had a stronger telescope, I would be able to see even more, maybe even the American flag Neil Armstrong and his team planted there many years ago.

 

Turning from the moon to the sun I remember learning that it takes a full 8 minutes for light to travel from the surface of the sun to the surface of the earth. Every time we look at the sun, we actually see the reflection of what happened on the surface of the sun 8 minutes ago. If the sun blew up now, we would only know about it in 8 minutes, that's how long it would take for the visible reflection of such an explosion to reach us. (The speed light travels at is approximately 299,792,458 meters per second. So it takes light 1.2 seconds to travel from the surface of the moon to the surface of the earth) Follow me on this. If we could stand on the surface of the sun with a strong enough telescope and zoom in to wherever you are on the surface of the earth, we would see a reflection of what you had done 8 minutes ago. No let's say we can go to the surface of a star that is 4 light years from the surface of the earth. That means the reflection of light from the earth to that star takes 4 years to reach us. If we could zoom in to the surface of the earth where you are, we will only be able to see what you have done 4 years ago because of the great distance your reflection must travel to reach us. There are stars that are 2,000 light years from the earth. Based on the same principle described above we would be able to zoom in on the crucifixion of Christ in Jerusalem, as it happens. Remember the actual reflection of that day is speeding away from the earth at the speed of light. According to the laws of physics that energy cannot be destroyed. It can merely change forms.

 

Now God has access to the whole universe. He is everywhere at any time. He does not need a telescope because nothing escapes His eyes. History on that scale is not merely what is written in books but what is reflected in the expanse of the universe. Every action, good or bad, is a reflection towards Him. When we repent of our sins and ask for forgiveness something amazing takes place. "As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us." (Psalm 103:12) God, in His awesome power revisits every reflection of sin, brokenness, mishap, defeat and failure that left your life on its journey through time and space, and He destroys those pockets of energy. He does what cannot be done. "Nothing is impossible with God." A forgiven life is a whole life. When God forgives, He forgets. Why? Because He is never again reminded of your sin, because all reflections of it and reminders of it has been destroyed! Your life reflection was cleaned up and perfected! "Be perfect because I am perfect". Man, does this verse make much more sense to me now! My life can only be perfect after the miracle of forgiveness.

 

Jesus Our Example

As He hung on the cross, paying the price of your sins and mine, Jesus looked at the people who placed Him there. The very ones He came to love and save. The ones He to earth for were the ones who shouted: "Crucify Him!" He had a good excuse to be angered and disappointed. He could so easily destroyed humanity and wiped them from the face of the earth. Heaven would have understood. But He did not. He openly declared: "Father forgive them for they know not what they have done!" He was not approving of their behavior. He was not condoning their actions. He was activating the miracle of forgiveness as an example to us!

 

Will you activate that same miracle in your life right now? Why hold on to resentment and bitterness? Why would you allow the enemy to gain an advantage over you? Go ahead and forgive so that you can be forgiven. Release those who hurt you so that you can be released from the pain of those experiences. Today, in forgiveness God will show you the way forward. He will forgive and forget, and enable you to do the same.

 

  Lord Jesus Christ,

Thank you for the miracle of forgiveness. Thank You for Your willingness and eagerness to traverse the expanse of my life's existence to destroy every act of sin, hurt, and imperfection. I repent of my sins for I am truly sorry for sinning against You. Please forgive me and wash me clean. Thank You for giving me the power to forgive.

I choose to forgive all who hurt me or have wronged me in any way. Release me from the pain of those experiences and I release them into Your mighty hands. Cover my sins with the permanent power of Your sacrificial blood. I dedicate my life to You. May it reflect only Your splendor, love and perfection as long as I live. In Jesus name. Amen.