‘And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors.’
Matthew 6:12
I welcome you all to the month of March 2024 – the Month of Forgiveness.
… “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
Matthew 22:37-40
The consistent thing in the above great commandment is Love. The flow of Love from the Father to you, through you to your neighbor and back to God. The flow of Love brings in the blessings of God and washes away all that offends.
Un-forgiveness is perhaps the biggest and strongest Barrier to the flow of Love. When you don’t believe that God has forgiven you of your past trespass, you will live in guilt. When you do not forgive yourself of your past trespass, you will live in self condemnation and shame . When you do not forgive your neighbor of their past trespass against you, you will live in bitterness and resentment.
Are you struggling with unforgiveness? I want you to remember that God loves you and God loves the people that have hurt you, equally. He has sent His Love to heal you and not to condemn or harm you.
I will like to suggest four things you can do to overcome or breakdown the unforgiveness barrier to the flow of Love.
1. Responsibility: Accept what has happened and show compassion to yourself and your neighbor.
2. Remorse: Use remorse as a gateway to positive behavior change.
3. Restoration: Make amends with whomever you’re forgiving, even if it’s yourself.
4. Renewal: Learn from the experience and grow as a person.
My prayer this month is that we all will accept the Love of the Father that comes through forgiveness.