Colossians 3:12-14 NIV
Colossians 3:13
Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
Jesus ended his lesson teaching his disciples how to pray by saying, “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins (Matthew 6:14-15). There was a time in my life where I could not embrace forgiveness. I was very adamant that before I could forgive those who have caused me harm, they had to admit their fault against me or apologize. I recall convincing myself that God understands my reason for resenting the individuals and refusing to forgive them.
I also recall one day while in my apartment as a young married person, I read the scripture above after I had gone through individual counseling to address the physical and emotional pain that others had inflicted on my life. The passage had been shared with me many times and I read it on different occasions. However, on that day after reading Matthew 6:14, the Holy Spirit convicted my heart by asking me “Is anyone or anything worth your soul being separated from God’s grace, mercy and eternal salvation? Are they worth your soul? I recall the internal emotion that I experienced as God freed and delivered me from the spirit of unforgiveness. I clearly remember saying no and that was the moment God allowed the scales of darkness to fall off my eyes which led me to the fruit of forgiveness. Forgiving others is not an option if we claim to walk with Jesus. I am sorry to ruin your illusion! God does not understand why you can’t forgive that person or people in your life. Because God forgave you despite of who you were and took the charge for all your sins by nailing them to the cross through his only son Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 2:14-15). And he continues to forgive us every day because we are in the flesh which makes us an easy target for Satan to distract us against his commands (Romans chapter 8). The word forgive is used in different contexts and has different meanings in the Bible. The word forgive/ forgiving in Colossians 3:13, depending on which translation you are using derives from the Hebrew/Greek words, Charizomai (Pronounce: Kdar-id-zom-ahee) which means to be gratuitous, to grant favor, in kindness, pardon or rescue or aphiemi (Pronounce: af-ee-ay-mee) which have several meanings depending on the scripture that is being read. It is often referred to dismiss, let go, give up, to let pass, etc. (Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible and The New Strong’s complete Dictionary of Bible Words). I am continuing to learn as Paul demonstrated in his charge to the Colossae church, we will grow weary bearing with each other unless we forgive one another. The reality is we will offend and hurt each other because we make mistakes and oftentimes our pride and selfishness blind us and we fall into the enemy’s trap and as a result we tend to offend or hurt each other. I am a work in progress in the area of forgiveness because my impatient sinful nature gets the best of me. I often want results immediately or struggle when the outcome is taking longer than expected. I am learning to always go back to Jesus’ answer to apostle Peter, “Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times” (Matthew 18:21-22). When we are attempting to get weary as we bear with one another’s flaws, let us reflect how Jesus forgave us daily and welcomes you to share in his heavenly Kingdom.
