06 Apr The Grace to Forgive
This is the 6th article in a series based on my book “The Guilty Soul’s Guide to Grace.” It is based on chapter 35,
As we come to understand and experience God’s loving forgiveness, we are inspired and enabled to offer forgiveness to others.
The verse below describes how much God loves us and how completely he forgives us:
The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
He will not always accuse,
nor will he harbor his anger forever;
he does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
(Psalm 103:8-12)
God is compassionate. He sees our struggles and sins, and He chooses to have mercy on us. He does not anger easily or quickly—He is patient with us. He abounds in love—that is, He has more love than we can even understand! And God does not sit around pointing an accusatory finger at us; rather, He showers us with love and takes our sins far away from us.
Because we have experienced such generous mercy, we are called to forgive others with the same generosity:
Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. (Colossians 3:13)
The more we grasp and appreciate God’s forgiveness, the more eager we become to treat others in the same loving and gracious way. We who have received undeserved grace are able to show others the same grace that God has given to us! Living forgiven and showing forgiveness will wonderfully bless our lives and relationships, just as God’s mercy and forgiveness have greatly blessed us in our relationship with Him!
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