Forgiveness is talking about:
- the importance of Mercy
- the consequences of being unmerciful and
- the character of God who draws us into being merciful through his unfailing Mercy towards us.
An anonymous quote says “When Forgiveness flows freely, Love washes as waves from the sea” – Clemency. When we feel wronged, we readily identify the need for an ‘apology’ but seldom see the vital need to forgive because this forgiveness must flow from us to the offender or perpetrator of the wrong. It is crucial to have forgiveness / Mercy if you want the life God wants for us. A spiritually formed believer forgives easily and is merciful, and Mercy produces wellness and good health.
Un-forgiveness causes many medical issues like headaches, pains, arthritis, indigestion, clutching teeth, etc. Bitter and angered people are not easy to be around; they cannot sleep and cause discomfort around themselves. Medical experts agree that those who hold on to bitterness and un-forgiveness ruin their bodies physically and psychologically. God knows what is best for us, so He wants us to forgive and be merciful. Jesus taught us “forgiveness” in our Lord’s Prayer and Matthew’s Beatitudes. 5:1-12. Jesus gave us the Beatitudes to help us reach the Kingdom of Heaven. The Beatitudes references the blessed attitudes that lead to Joy and Happy Living.
Importance of Mercy (Merciful)
Matt. 5:7 “Blessed are merciful for they will be shown mercy.” God gives Mercy freely. It shows us the character of God. God’s nature is Love, Grace, Omniscient, Sovereign, Holy, and Merciful. Sometimes He shows wrath because He hates the sin, but wrath is not God’s nature or characteristic but what God does because He wants to correct us in Love when we go against His commandments. When you live a life of bitterness and un-forgiveness, you hurt yourself. Living the life of Mercy is predicated on being formed in the character of Jesus Christ. A church must be merciful to count as a church of God indeed. Mercy hinges on Love. A merciful church is a transforming church, not one standing on moral grounds, just condemning sinful habits. All are wretched and fall short of the glory of God. We walk only in the Mercy and Grace of God. In Christ, there is no condemnation.
To be merciful, we need to understand what Mercy is and not. Gospel of Matthew walks us through those definitions and leads us into a deeper understanding of how to walk through the process of forgiveness. If you cannot forgive the way Jesus has forgiven us, then you do not know who Jesus is! If you are not merciful, you cannot experience the Mercy of God. If you live the way of showing Mercy, God will change many things around you. If you walk in Mercy, you experience the beautiful and Gospel-driven future. “Forgiveness does not alter the past, but it enlarges the future.”