You're Forgiven

Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men. And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, Son, your sins are forgiven you. Mark 2:3-5 (NKJV)

Have you ever done something that you wished youd never done, only to end up hurting someone? How about when you genuinely said, Im sorry, do you remember how that felt when they accepted your apology? Pretty good, wasnt it?

I dont think we possess any greater gift within us than to love others as Christ loved us. And this type of love includes the ability to forgive others.

It goes against every inclination in our flesh to genuinely forgive someone who has hurt us. Its as if our being wronged and being viewed as some sort of victim were some sort of chunk of gold in our possession; why would we give it away?

Or perhaps it is the shear power of being able to say, I forgive you, that is so intriguing to posses. Or it could be the fear of losing the feeling of having something to hold against that person if you utter those words. Sort of like You get one wish. Once youve used it, you cant use it again.

When you say your sorry, your suppose to let it go, and not bring it up again and again as some sort of sledgehammer to beat the other person up. We see this so many times in peoples conversations when they have a disagreement with someone. One person will be holding the other person accountable on something that the other has done, and then theyll respond by bringing up a passed offense. Its almost as if it were a defense weapon of sorts, and for many its the first line of defense.

There are also those times when someone has been wronged and theyll say that they forgive the other person, but theyll continue to think upon that act, and it affects there whole attitude. If thought upon long enough, they will eventually treat the person who theyve forgiven as if they had just done the act again.

Anger is a weakness in our lives that is exploited by the enemy. And as long as you refuse to forgive another person, the devil and his emissaries are using it to control you.

So how important is forgiveness to all of us?

The story contained in the verses above shows us. It is of a paralytic who, in faith, believed that Jesus could heal him of his physical disabilities. He convinced 4 of his friends to lower him through a hole in the roof to be able to get close enough to Jesus for a chance at this healing.

Jesus knew this man desired to be physically healed, but He also knew that he needed to be spiritually healed as well. And because this man was placing his faith in Jesus, he was told, Son, your sins are forgiven you. And we then read that God chose to heal him physically as well.

I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house. Mark 2:11 (NKJV)

We need to understand that our physical needs will always take our attention and priority as long as we focus on them first and foremost. God is teaching us very clearly here, that we should take care of our spiritual needs and condition first, and then the physical will be dealt with (See Matthew 6:33).

I am not suggesting that every paralytic will be physically healed so they may walk if they forgive others, or if God forgives them. I am saying that we should be more concerned with our spiritual wellbeing than our physical as our body is temporary, but our spirit is eternal. And there is no bigger stumbling block in our spiritual walk with God, then our inability to forgive others.

But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses. Mark 11:26 (NKJV)

You cannot make it a goal to have everyone you have wronged forgive you. It can never be a goal if it is necessary for someone else to participate; when this happens it is simply a hope, desire or wish.

So when it comes to others forgiving you, all you can do is ask. If they are Christian, they must forgive. And the same is true for us. If we are asked to forgive, then we must forgive. No, Ifs, ands, or buts about it!

Dont let the devil plant a bitter root within your heart when others wrong you. If you are a Christian, you need to know that God sees what is happening, and He will defend you in His perfect time. If someone has taken something from you, then they have taken it from God, because all that we possess is from God, and it is Gods; we are just the stewards of it.

Ask the Lord to show you those within your life that you need to forgive today. Now forgive them, and let it go!

STUDY QUESTION: What can we learn from the verses above with regards to forgiveness?

PERSONAL INVENTORY: Is there someone you are not forgiving? Are you not letting a past offense against you go? Are you bringing it up against them over and over?

APPLICATION: Go before the Lord today; ask Him to help you forgive others the same way He has forgiven you. Then do it right away, and every time in the future when you have been wronged.