Moving on 16th April 2008

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with one another and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him”. Colossians 3: 12- 17

Bear with one another and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

Isn’t this just the hardest part of the Lord’s Prayer, “Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us”? I’m always muttering under my breath, “Please God I hope you’ll forgive me much better, more completely than I forgive others” because I want to be completely forgiven and I know it sometimes takes me ages to get to that point with someone else.

I believe that God knows and understands this about us and that he does forgive us but as Christians we can’t dodge the issue of forgiving others. Jesus made it plain that this was expected of those who had received God’s forgiveness and here Paul reiterates Jesus’ teaching. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

He gives us a bit of help with this first saying, “bear with one another”. This says to me “take time to understand each other” and “make allowances for each other”, after all we’re all human and have our faults, brokenness, insecurities and weaknesses that cause us to act the way we do so we each need bear with one another. As we understand why someone acts the way they do and as we recognise our own similar tendencies and humanness we may find it easier to forgive that person.

Of course the challenge is to forgive as Jesus did; in the midst of the pain; totally unasked for and absolutely completely, not bearing any grudge or ever bringing up the offence again.

Why not say the Lord’s Prayer now and as you get to the forgiveness phrase, ask God to help you move on with those with whom you have issues around forgiveness?