The Lord’s Prayer—Thy Name, Thy Will, Thy Gift, Thy
Victory, Thy Protection
And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against
us.
I don’t
know about you, but I don’t think very rigorously about the things I do wrong
to others. After all, I know they are done out of a good heart. I have all
kinds of rationalizations about them.
But let me
tell you. I can become very stern over a minor (in comparison to my sins)
resentment. I can let resentment crush
my soul by rigorously detailing every wrong I endured. I can be depleted of time, emotional energy
and clear thinking when I put myself in a prison of resentment and throw away
the key of forgiveness. When I do this,
I drink the poison of unforgiveness, rather than experience the supernatural
experience of sincere, agape love for someone who has either carelessly or
seriously offended me.
This phrase
of the powerful Lord’s Prayer if prayed sincerely can become the most
transformational phrase we ever utter.
God our holy Abba-Father is so clever and wise when He asks us to
consider our own forgiveness in light of our own sinful acts.
When I hold
on to resentments, it only tells me one reality about myself--I am not fully
aware of what my sins have cost Jesus. When I am so full of anger and resentment
towards another human being, I am asked to consider my own sins against my Holy
Hollowed God! In His Kingdom,
unforgiveness has no place! Forgiveness
is the magnet that draws us into the Kingdom of God.
Our personal
relationship with God is ignited by forgiveness. When our hearts, hardened by sin, become soft
enough to acknowledge that we are utterly unworthy before our Hollowed God andwe
bow our heads and ask for mercy, our hearts are flooded with forgiveness. We receive, through the power of the blood of
Jesus Christ, the whole manner of heaven.
We become citizens of the Kingdom of God through God’s mercy and
forgiveness opened by our repentance.
Once you
belong to God’s Kingdom, you have the power, the capacity and the
responsibility to be forgiving as your heavenly Father is forgiving. Colossians 3:13 says, Bear with each other and forgive
one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. You came to Christ by the power of forgiveness;
you bring others to Christ through the power of forgiveness.
Having said
all that, let me be bold to declare that some Christians believe they are
forgiving when what they really are doing is putting a Band-Aid on an
infectious wound which does nothing to build God’s kingdom, rather it helps the
person repress their bad feelings against another person. Forgiveness is not a feeling, it is not
pretending it didn’t hurt, and it isn’t necessarily reconciliation, rather,
forgiveness is a decision, it is a divine absurdity, and it might lead to
reconciliation. Forgiving others as we
have been forgiven is one of the highest spiritual experiences you will ever
enjoy on earth. Forgiveness is alchemy
for the soul. It is a magical
transformation.
I consider
this phase of this prayer as the most victorious reality I enjoy in the
Kingdom. When I experience God’s
transforming power through the power of forgiving those who sin against me, I
am given a joy and intimacy and deeper appreciation for the forgiveness Jesus
offers me.
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