Matthew 18:25
35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”
When it comes to forgiveness, Jesus tells us that we must forgive from the heart because any other form of “forgiveness” is not acceptable to God because it is not genuine.
I came across these statements and I think they can help us know if we have truly forgiven from the heart.
1:True forgiveness is permanent. False forgiveness is temporary.
Sometimes we say we have forgiven someone and then when they commit another offence we regurgitate even that which we said we had forgiven then. Did we really forgive?
2:True forgiveness is unconditional. False forgiveness has conditions.
When we say we will only forgive if the person who offended us meets certain conditions have we really forgiven them from the heart?
3: True forgiveness lets the past be over. False forgiveness keeps the past alive.
When we say we have forgiven someone but we keep going back to the grave to dig up and resurrect what we say we have forgiven them to remind them, have we really forgiven them? When we say we have forgiven but we still treat the person as though they owe us something did we really forgive them?
True forgiveness is inspired by love. False forgiveness is motivated by ego.
When we truly understand Gods love for us and how much he has forgiven us, then the same love will inside us to forgive others because we want to see them experience the greatness of Gods love and forgiveness as well.
Reflective Thoughts
Think about people who have greatly offended you, have you really forgiven them?
Sometimes the person who caused you offence is yourself! Have you forgiven you or do you keep reminding you of the offence and mistakes you made that have and are still causing you pain and regret?
Gods forgiveness is available for all who will embrace it, have you embraced it. If you have, then God has forgiven you. Do not allow the enemy to again bring condemnation for what God has already forgiven.
