Loving God, may today be a day of true worship in the life and needs of this dear reader; in Christ Jesus I pray, amen.
Our study of Jesus' prayer continues with "As we forgive those who trespass against us..." (Matthew 6:12b).
We tend to make our personal space sacred. We also tend to call that little space our comfort zone. One time in one of my churches, I was preaching about that and to demonstrate how little this space really is I asked folks to stand (a good way to keep them from falling asleep!) and to put their arms outside their hips as if they were gunslingers in an old Western movie. I then asked them to rotate their arms to the right and then the left, drawing an imaginary circle. I asked them to do it again and a little faster so they could see that circle around them. One man, a Winter Texan (those who come to Texas in the winter months to enjoy their retirement in the sun) did it so much he didn't want to stop. "Sir, that's enough. Thank you." My sermon was about our reluctance to let others into our sacred space. That sacred space is not just physical, it is also emotional and pyschological. It is also spiritual. When others invade through a sin or action or unkind word towards us, they wound us and sometimes that wound is deep. It takes a long time for us to forgive that trespass.
Jesus prayed this prayer in the affirmative. Our English version says "As we forgive;" no where have I found a version that says, "If," or "If we want to." It was prayed in the way it was meant, we will forgive those who have done something against us. Forgiveness was a common theme for Jesus and His ministry. In the Sermon on the Mount, one of the blessings comes to those who can show mercy. Another time in discussing forgiveness Peter thought he was way head of the game by asking if he should forgive seven times; Jesus responded by saying it was not seven, but seventy times seven. Some of Jesus' parables were about forgiveness. Jesus knew the release and freedom that is ours when we just let go and try to leave the memory of that hurt in the past. Someone once said that not forgiving someone is like drinking poison ourselve and expecting the other person to die. It doesn't work like that. Once we release the hurt and pain by saying, "I forgive you," we ourselves receive the blessing of being set free from carrying that burden any longer.
PRAYER: Loving God, I realize that love placed in my heart is big enough and strong enough to let go of pain and hurt that others may have placed there. I ask that I be set free from all things negative that I have carried around by forgiving whoever has crossed into my space in a hurtful way. I truly understand that to forgive is to live. May I also continue to understand more deeply the power in this prayer of Jesus, my Lord, "Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed by thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power and the glory, forever and ever." Amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
