Forgiveness is Powerful

I went to church today expecting nothing but a good message but what I got out of it was life changing.

I knew our pastor was preaching on forgiveness and grace but I did not know it would change my life.

"For if you forgive others their sins, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their sins, neither will your Father forgive your sins" Matthew 6:14-15


Read it again. Slowly. See what Jesus is saying.

Our pastor shared several thoughts after reading that passage to us...

~ If you don't trust Christ then you won't be able to forgive
~ If you accept Christ's forgiveness then you will be able to offer forgiveness to others
~ If you can't forgive others, then do you actually have Christ?
~ If you do not forgive others, you are saying that the Cross is not sufficient

And then I lost it in my heart. Tears flowed down my face as I quickly tried to wipe them away so my friends did not see how moved I was. (Crazy right?)

That passage of scripture and points from my pastor, changed me. It did not come overnight, forgiveness never does, but it has been brewing in my heart for quite some time. How can I claim to know Christ, love His forgiveness for me and not forgive others?

I. am. ashamed.

Today I did something that has been months, dare I say years in the making? I wrote an email to my step-father and forgave him. The details of that email are private but I feel at peace. It is something that Christ has commanded me to do and I followed through.

Today there is peace in my heart. My God has restored me and I believe He will restore my relationship with my step-father. How dare I withhold forgiveness when Christ has given me so much?

The power of being forgiven and forgiving others is overwhelming wonderful. It is enough to bring you to your knees again and again.

As soon as the link is up for the message I heard today, I will share it. It is life changing.