I NEVER WILL

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

1 John 1:9 KJV

A man was asked “Do you think God will forgive me for what I’ve done”?  The man replied “You’d better hope He does because I’m not sure I ever will”.  How that statement must have hurt Jesus and broke His heart.  Even while He was hanging on the cross with the blood flowing down His body, He forgave us.

We read in the Bible.  “Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.  And they parted his raiment, and cast lots” (Luke 23:34).  If Jesus forgave us while He was still hanging on the cross in pain, how dare you and I go to a Holy God and ask Him to forgive us if we don’t forgive others?

How we must hurt our precious Saviour and break His heart when we aren’t willing to forgive others.  Jesus didn’t have to forgive us.  What if Jesus had said that He would never forgive us?  You and I would be on our way to hell for all eternity.  Thank God for the unconditional love of our Saviour.

I think you and I sometimes forget that we too hurt people at times.  If we refuse to forgive the ones who hurt us, we can’t expect the ones we hurt to forgive us.  May God have mercy on us and forgive us for being judgmental and refusing to forgive the ones who hurt us.  Let’s start forgiving as Jesus forgave us.

Joanne Lowe

September 6, 2016