It’s funny how we go to God everyday asking for His forgiveness, but we sometimes find it impossible to forgive others for the simplest things.
It’s funny how we seek God’s mercy and grace to prevail whenever we've stepped outside of His will, but we can’t seem to extend grace or mercy towards others when they do wrong.
It’s funny how we need God's long suffering with us as He waits for us to get it right, but our patience is short when it comes to waiting on others to get it right.
You know what’s even funnier than that? We don’t seem to notice the violations we commit against others and how desperately we need their forgiveness when we act foolishly, inappropriately, or rudely.
It’s not funny…..and God is not laughing. Forgiveness is as forgiveness does.
Found in Matthew 6:12, the Contemporary English Version (CEV) Bible says it plainly, “Forgive us for doing wrong, as we forgive others.”
Truth is, God forgives us as we forgive others. The Model Prayer proclaims that we would be forgiven likewise. From our own mouths we ask God to forgive us and that we would extend the same mercy, grace, and forgiveness just as He extends to us.
Forgiveness is a two-way street. We all need to give it and we all need to receive it.
Forgiveness is as forgiveness does. It’s not funny at all. We have to do better.
We’ll never escape the need for God’s forgiveness. Likewise, we won’t make it far in life without needing to forgive someone else for a fault (either intentionally or unintentionally) against us.
And Lord knows—even when we don’t want to admit it—we've committed wrongs against others and we need to ask for their forgiveness as well.
Maybe, God is waiting for us to forgive someone else before He will forgive us. Maybe He’s waiting for us to ask someone to forgive us for our wrong doing before He'll forgive us.
Forgiveness is as forgiveness does.