2006-06-23
Good Morning Cherished of God,
Christ's lesson on prayer in the Lord's Prayer [MT 6: 9-13] is so precious to the life of every believer that the Holy Spirit commands me to spend as much time as He has things for me to write about it. As you'll remember, we are going through the index sentences, those which were used in earlier times before the printing press to teach people how to say the Lord's Prayer and what it means. The first five index sentences and their subjects are: "Our Father Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name," [worship]; "Thy Kingdom come...," [allegiance], "Thy will be done...," [submission], "Give us this day our daily bread..." [petition], and "Forgive us our debts..." [confession]. Last week, the Spirit directed me to write about the relative value of using "debts," or "transgressions," or "sins." We also took up the issue of our need to confess our sins followed by a cessation of the sinful thoughts and/or behavior. This is an acknowledgement of God's right to expect from us a change for the better in response to His giving us His "nature," the Holy Spirit, to dwell within us.
There is another aspect to this fifth index sentence in addition to the confession of our sins. It is taking on the willingness to forgive others. Remember: "Forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven our debtors..." [MT 6: 12 NIV]. Some people find it very hard to forgive others. Dr. Bruce Wilkinson tells the story of a woman he encountered who wanted to talk to him about her difficulty producing spiritual fruit. She claimed that she was living the Christian lifestyle in every way and couldn't understand why her efforts were not being productive in anything she tried to do for the Lord. Interestingly enough, this encounter happened when Dr. Wilkinson was on ship voyage visiting the Greek islands. He was unable to come up with a quick answer to her question, but said he would pray about it and would be returning to her island home in three weeks, asking her to wait for God to speak to him about this. He also asked her to pray during that time. They would meet again at that time. During the interim, God made it clear to Dr. Wilkinson to ask this woman if she was holding any grudges against anyone in her life. So, when they met again, he did so. She thought about it for a few minutes and then said she and her mother had not gotten along with each other for many years. I immediately thought about MT 5: 22-23 as I was reading this story. "So if you are about to offer your gift to God at the altar and there you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar, go at once and make peace with your brother, and then come back and offer your gift to God." The lady finally did approach her mother to mend their differences, and she was warmly accepted. From that time on, she exuded the fruits of the Spirit [GA 5: 22-23] and her life was productive in her service to God. Without forgiving others, how can our prayers be anything but hypocritical?
Can we understand our debt to God without forgiving others? Let's begin by looking at COL 3: 13, "Be tolerant with one another and forgive one another whenever any of you has a complaint against someone else. You must forgive one another just as the Lord has forgiven you." God is using Paul here to say there is a definite link between our willingness to forgive others and God's willingness to forgive us. That's huge! It demands a change in the behavior of our natural selves. And what about this debt we have to God? He has given us everything, most importantly our faith in the Son and the sacrifice of His Son on the cross, so that we can be saved. What greater gift can there be? And that doesn't even mention the gift that followed, that of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit! That pesky question comes up: What about forgiving someone who refuses to make peace with you? The answer is still the same. EPH 4: 32, "Instead [of bitterness, insults, shouting, and anger], be kind and tender-hearted to one another, and forgive one another, as God has forgiven you through Christ." It's the content of our hearts that needs to matter to us-even when someone else's heart remains bitter and angry. Who knows? Maybe the example of forgiveness we set for that other person might some day get through to him and cause him to want to forgive. Forgiveness comes when a person is ready for it, which may not be at exactly the same time we are. The main point to remember is that our faith in Christ gives us the power to forgive, and it's up to us to decide to use it.
PRAYER: O Lord, many people, including Peter, have come to You on bended knee asking how much forgiveness must we extend to others when we feel they have wronged us. Your Son answers that question in MT 18: 21-23a, "Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, 'Lord, if my brother keeps on sinning against me, how many times do I have to forgive him? Seven times?' 'No not seven times,' answered Jesus, 'but seventy times seven, because the Kingdom of Heaven is like this.'" You cherish us and show it by giving us Your word. It leaves no important question about Your will for us uncovered. You are a just, compassionate, and patient God, Who by Your constant presence, direction, encouragement, and wisdom in our lives reveals Your holy attributes and demonstrates Your love for us daily. PS 86: 12-13 comes to mind. "I will praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify Your name forever. For great is Your love toward me; You have delivered me from the depths of the grave." The debt each of us has built up by our past sin is huge, and yet, You offer Your Son on the cross, allowing that debt of sin to be canceled. It is because of this debt and the forgiveness that You have given us, that we come before Your throne today to confess that we still have sin in our lives and want to get rid of it. For this, we ask Your help. Only You have the power to lead us in a lifestyle that will expunge our sin and perfect us in preparation for a blissful eternal life with You, in Your own time. To that end, we dedicate ourselves to being forgiving toward others without regard to whether or not they are willing to forgive in kind. We understand, Dearest Abba, that it is our business to stop our own sinning, and it is Your concern to deal with that of others. If by our example another person decides to stop his own sinning, then we are blessed. You are a God Who bears our burdens. This was made clear in PS 68: 19-20 and again in MT 11: 28-30. We place our burdens on Christ's ample shoulders and decide today to make our heart-attitudes conform with His [RO 12: 2]. Your supernatural ability to transform our hearts is a magnificent thing to observe, both in ourselves and in others. Christ's teaching in the fifth index sentence of the Lord's Prayer makes this whole prayer so important that we should repeat it with understanding, one sentence meditated upon at a time, every day. We express our love for You and our willingness to take Your direction, especially in the matter of forgiveness. Through Your Son's lesson, we begin to understand the magnitude of what You have done for us and why we owe it to You, the God of our forefathers, to adjust our behavior accordingly. You deserve our eternal worship, praise, and thanks. In the mighty name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Next week, I'm directed in concluding what I'm to say about the fifth index sentence of the Lord's Prayer to write about why people find it hard to forgive. If space permits, the Holy Spirit will direct me to begin writing about the sixth index sentence. But that's for next week. Each week that I write, I am left with the great need to offer encouragement for us all in dealing with whatever the challenge of the devotion is. This one, the challenge to forgive others—even when they won't forgive us—is important. Our Lord gives us the promise of an eternal life that is so rich and wonderful that it is worth enduring all the trials we must on earth. 2 COR 4: 16b-17 shows us this. "Even though our physical being is gradually decaying, yet our spiritual being is renewed day after day. And this small and temporary trouble we suffer will bring us a tremendous and eternal glory, much greater than the trouble." What is required here is faith as it is defined in HE 11: 1, "To have faith is to be sure of the things we hope for, to be certain of the things we cannot see." If we confess our sins with an honest, open, and contrite heart, the Lord knows this. He will do what is needed to give us the confidence and power to forgive those with whom we have been angry and held a grudge. Once this is accomplished, He will give us "peace that goes far beyond human understanding" [PHIL 4: 7]. There is nothing to compare with that on earth!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn