Forgiveness
The word "forgive" is a Grace word, in the English as
well as in the Greek. An early meaning in English was "to
give or to grant". Then, forgive came to mean "to remit
a debt; to give up resentment or claim for requital; to pardon
an offense."
All of us are debtors to others, to society as a whole. And we
often feel that people owe us many things in our human relationships.
We feel we are owed courtesy and consideration. Sometimes we think
that we are owed reward or status or promotion in some enterprise,
or on the job. We are certainly owed fair treatment, justice,
restitution and many other things.
But, many people in America are spiritually, ethically, and morally
bankrupt. They simply cannot pay society what they owe! They are
thoughtless, selfish, ungracious. What should a Christian do about
all of the debts owed to him. Answer: forgive them, as Christ
forgave you.
A Christian who practices Grace thinking (divine viewpoint) will
become a forgiving person. To forgive means "to give up a
claim; to cease bearing resentment".
The rich man in Luke 7 was able to forgive the two debtors because
he was prosperous. He gave to them out of his prosperity. A person
can only give to others out of what God has already provided in
the way of prosperity. In terms of money, the principle is "Let
him that stole, steal no more; rather, let him labor, doing with
his hands the thing that is good, that he may have to give to
him that needeth."
As a growing Christian, you have many other kinds of prosperity,
by the Grace of God. You have intellectual prosperity (divine
viewpoint). You have spiritual prosperity (peace with God). You
have emotional prosperity (relaxed mental attitude). You have
financial prosperity (mastery of details of life). You have social
prosperity (stable marriage, stable family life, etc.).
Wherever in your life you find that someone else owes you something,
you have the wherewithal to forgive him! God has forgiven all
of us who are absolutely without resources of our own. And He
is not expecting or demanding some kind of payment in return for
His Grace gifts. And we are to be channels of Grace to the world.
"Out of your innermost being shall flow rivers of living
water."
Topic: GRACE