Matthew 18:31-35
Pastors are privy to all sorts of situations. I remember a pair of siblings who were engaged in a long-time squabble that began when their parents died. One sibling felt cheated out of portions of their inheritance and was full of anger. Years passed and the siblings did not speak, although one made several attempts to reconcile. When that sibling died, the angry brother felt riddled with grief because of his unwillingness to forgive and the weight of those years he didn’t get to share with his brother. In the end, it was clear that holding onto his anger was not worth the time he lost with his sibling.
I’ve often heard the phrase, “No one said forgiveness would be easy, but forgiveness is worth it.” Aside from the fact that being unforgiving can keep us from receiving God’s forgiveness, once an individual is gone from our life, there are no do-overs. The time for second chances is gone. Refusing to forgive is not worth the agony it breeds. It only leads to a place of more torture and anguish.
This is not a place I want any of us to have to endure. If there is unforgiveness in your heart, I pray with you for it to be healed and the pain taken away. Don’t spend another day in agony and without the peace of God in your heart and mind.
Consider
What offense do you need to forgive in order to have peace with yourself and with God?
Pray
God, may you repair the broken places in our hearts so that we can forgive others as you forgive us. Amen.