Forgive Others Because You Need Forgiveness, Too
By Rick Warren
“For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins”(Matthew 6:14-15 NIV).
Forgiveness is a two-way street. You can’t expect others to forgive you if you are unwilling to forgive them.
Jesus says it like this: “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins” (Matthew 6:14-15 NIV).
It’s a basic biblical truth. You reap what you sow.
One time, a man came to John Wesley and said, “I could never forgive that person.” Wesley said, “Then I hope you never sin. When you are unforgiving, you’re burning the very bridge you need to walk across.” When you’re not forgiving of others, you’re setting yourself up to not be forgiven yourself. Because God says you’re going to need forgiveness in the future.
When I hear somebody say that they can’t forgive someone, I realize that person doesn’t understand forgiveness. If you understood forgiveness, you probably would be more able to do it. Many myths get in the way of our readiness to forgive. For example, here are three of the biggest misconceptions about forgiveness.
Forgiveness is not:
It’s time to forgive those who have hurt you. You’ll need the forgiveness of others later. Don’t withhold what you’ll depend upon soon.
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Talk It Over
Pastor Rick says there are three things that forgiveness is not. Which one do you struggle with believing?
How does understanding you’ll need to be forgiven at another time make it easier to forgive others?
Who do you need to express forgiveness to today?
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This devotional © 2018 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
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