LORD'S PRAYER: FORGIVE TO GET FORGIVEN

Matthew 6:9-13
“This, then, is how you should pray: “‘Our Father in heaven,hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one."


And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. This is what I've been thinking about. 


We are always very interested in getting forgiveness for the things we have done. This part of the model prayer reminds us that our forgiveness is conditional. On what? - How we forgive others. This scripture brings us to the story that Jesus told about the man who owed LOTS of money to his lord. He begged for forgiveness of that debt and it was granted to him by the lord. He immediately went out from that place of forgiveness and encountered someone who owed him a much lesser sum. The undeserved gift of forgiveness he received from his lord was quickly forgotten and he insisted on being paid the debt. This was observed by some who knew the situation and it was reported back to the lord who promptly had him seized and taken to the torturers. This is a brutal reminder that what we receive we must also give.


When we wrong someone, we have all our excuses lined up in a row to justify our actions and demand forgiveness. We take forgiveness from God for granted because he is a forgiving Lord who is full of grace and mercy...we forget that He is also a God of JUSTICE! If we fail to be forgiving of others the word of God tells us that it blocks the flow of God's forgiveness to us. Remember that the scripture says that God is not mocked and whatever we sow we WILL REAP. If we walk without mercy toward those who might wrong us, we will reap unforgiveness from God as well. As we walk through this world people will offend us. It can't be avoided because people will be....well, human. they will sin and offend. We must be ready to forgive them. The best way to do that is to live with the attitude that we have already forgive them before they commit the trespass. In the old testament one of my favorite verses declares that "great peace have they that love God's law and nothing shall offend them." Loving God with all our heart means loving others the same way.


Think about how you have sinned against God and His loving nature. As you consider that, also consider that if you want forgiveness to continue to come your way, you must also let that forgiveness flow through you to others...how have I been doing at this?..that's what I've been thinking about...