Forgiveness
I was reading the account of King David in 2 Samuel 12, where his sin of taking the life of Uriah was exposed. I then turned to Psalm 51 which is described as David’s prayer for pardon. In this Psalm David vividly expresses the heaviness of sin. David is desperately seeking forgiveness. He cries out, “Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love.” “Against you, and you alone, have I sinned. I have done what is evil in your sight.” “Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me.” David appears to fear that because of his sin, God would no longer love him. As I was thinking about forgiveness, this thought came to my mind. “You can’t love until you forgive.”
After Adam and Eve brought sin into the world through their disobedience, the only way the relationship that they enjoyed with God could be restored was through forgiveness. In Hebrews 10:1-7 we read, “The old system under the law of Moses was only a shadow, a dim preview of the good things to come, not the good things themselves. The sacrifices under that system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship. If they could have provided perfect cleansing, the sacrifices would have stopped, for the worshipers would have been purified once for all time, and their feelings of guilt would have disappeared. But instead, those sacrifices actually reminded them of their sins year after year. For it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.”
“That is why, when Christ came into the world, he said to God, “You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings. But you have given me a body to offer. You were not pleased with burnt offerings or other offerings for sin. Then I said, ‘Look, I have come to do your will, O God—as is written about me in the Scriptures.’”
This led me to consider my relationship with God. Before I could experience God’s love, I had to acknowledge my sin and receive His forgiveness. It also helped me realize that before I can give love, I must forgive. And not only must I forgive, I must forgive as God forgives – “And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.” Hebrews 10:12 (NLT) If I hold unforgiveness in my heart, it blocks God’s love from flowing through me. That thought, “You can’t love until you forgive,” rings true.
Consider the great cost of God’s forgiveness for mankind. The desire of God from the beginning was to have a loving relationship with mankind. After sin entered the world, the only way He could restore the broken relationship was to forgive. In order to do that He had to become a limited human being, live a simple life, overcome the temptations of Satan, physically and emotionally suffer, and obediently crawl upon a cross and die. When Jesus cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” he carried the sin of all mankind. Though he cried out for God’s love, it could not be found. Yet through this act of sacrifice, God was able to forgive and then restore the love relationship He intended from the beginning of creation.
Mother Theresa once said, “If we really want to love, we must learn how to forgive.” Until we can forgive, we cannot love completely. Just as it cost God a great sacrifice, we, too, must be willing to sacrifice in order to experience the freedom to love. God’s love for us started with forgiveness. May we follow His example.
Love prospers when a fault is forgiven, but dwelling on it separates close friends.
Proverbs 17:9 (NLT)
Carol, God has given me the chance to put forgiveness in practice this week. It is a choice. Your choice of scriptures is compelling evidence that I have to heed.
Thank you for the reminder that we first need to forgive, so that we can love purely and completely.
Yes Carol I stand in agreement with you. One cannot love without forgiving and likewise, we cannot forgive without love.