How does forgiving and resolving lead to reconciliation?
Conflict Resolution vs Reconciliation - Lesson 5, Beginning Reflections, p. 69
We cannot do anything to earn or deserve God’s forgiveness. What we deserve is God’s eternal wrath and punishment! We come as beggars, with nothing to offer, seeking mercy. Yet, in God’s incredible love for us, He sent His Son to be sin, taking on the punishment we deserve and giving us His righteousness:
“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21).
In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus taught His disciples to ask for God’s forgiveness:
“Pray then like this: Our Father in heaven, hallowed by your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil” (Matthew 6:9-13).
We join with God’s people from throughout the ages when we confess our sins before God and receive His forgiveness:
“Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!" (Psalm 51:1-2).
“If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared” (Psalm 130:3-4).
“But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’” (Luke 18:13).
Immediately following His teaching on prayer, Jesus reinforced the importance of forgiving others.
“For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matthew 6:14-15).
Our society has developed many substitutes for true forgiveness: That’s okay; No problem; Don’t worry about it; I accept your apology.
Those who don’t believe and trust in Christ’s forgiveness cannot forgive as God forgives. But believers sometimes struggle to forgive as they have been forgiven.
In the coming weeks, we reflect on the relationship between God’s forgiveness to us and our forgiving others.
This blog series is adapted from Conflict Resolution vs Reconciliation. You can experience this teaching in several ways:
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