Forgiven The Greatest, Loves The Most

“He, who is forgiven the greatest, loves the most.”

(See Luke 7:41-43)

 

Wherefore I say unto thee,
Her sins, which are many, are forgiven;
for she loved much.  (Luke 7:47)

As I write this, I’m aware of the depth of gratitude I owe because of the sins that God has forgiven me for. My debt is huge, but by His grace, love and mercy, I’ve repented, asked for forgiveness, begged for mercy and have been forgiven. Hallelujah! However, at times when I’ve been wronged I’ve gotten angry, held grudges and let it be known that it was not going to be easy for me to forgive or forget what the person had done. Even after God had “forgiven my sin and cleansed me from all righteousness” and had “cast my sin as far as the east is from the west” and “remembered my sin no more”, I still had trouble forgiving.

In light of my being forgiven greatly, I should always forgive greatly. Anyone who has any idea of the magnitude of their sin against God, after having been forgiven should by the power of the Spirit be the greatest forgivers.

Well, you may say, “I don’t have trouble forgiving others, I just can’t forgive myself!” My friend, no where in scripture does it say that you must forgive yourself. Many people are weighed down by the guilt and inability to forgive themselves. When in reality it is God’s forgiveness that we should truly seek. Yes, we should seek the forgiveness of others that we have offended, but even then, we are not required to receive their forgiveness and therefore should not be crippled if we don’t received it. The damage in that relationship may very well be a consequence that we may have to live with. However, Jesus paid the debt for our every sin and in reality every offense is ultimately against Him. When He forgives and cleanses from all unrighteousness He can pave the way as we live under His grace towards reconciled relationships that seemed impossible to mend.

Many times we seek forgiveness from others so that our circumstance will change and we’ll feel better. Seeking forgiveness from God paves the way for the changes to occur in us first and then by God’s grace our circumstances will follow through a journey of repentance, reconciliation and restoration, all of which begin with God first.

The next time you find it hard to forgive go back and read about the cross of Christ (Isaiah 53:5) and realize it was for you that died. Realizing that should help us in our decisions to forgive our offenders.