When teaching His disciples how to pray, Jesus pointed out the necessity and importance of practicing forgiveness towards those who have wronged us. Many times this text has been misinterpreted as if God will not forgive us unless we forgive others, which is not true. The redemptive act of Christ on the cross has made the way, to offer mankind forgiveness for all failings and shortcomings, even if the process of forgiving others has not been completely worked out in our hearts and minds. The importance of practicing forgiveness towards those who have wronged us is essential and demands a high place of priority in each of our lives. Sometime it is hard to forgive others, even when we want to, because the emotions of hurt and anger are just too raw to put it down. That is when the “forgiveness process” of unraveling and letting go of the emotions of hurt and anger must be practiced and pursued, however long it takes. Only through God’s grace and mercy will we be able to find the power in our hearts to learn how to let go, and discover the freedom to love instead of hate. There are other times when we are offended that it is easier to forgive our offender, while not getting pulled into a web of negative emotions that attempts to pull us into a trap of bitterness and un-forgiveness. Forgiveness is a vital necessity that we must continue to step forward in, while growing spiritually [knowing God more intimately] and learning to pray more effectively. Because Jesus has forgiven our past, present, and future shortcomings, we must go forth with the desire to work out our hearts and forgive others their weaknesses, failings and shortcomings. It is only through His Spirit of Love and forgiveness that Light can be manifested to our broken hearts, while enabling us to make an impact on our hurting, bitter world that is in much need of healing.
“And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him and let it drop (leave it, let it go), in order that your Father who is in heaven may also forgive you your [own] failings and shortcomings and let them drop” (Mark 11:25).
