Matthew 6:14 “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.”

This verse was recently shared at a meeting that I attended, and it spoke to me once again. As I looked back at my life, I realized that I had been obedient to these words from Jesus himself. Many times, this is not easy for us to do, but it is required of our Christian walk. Why? The very next verse and words of Jesus tell us that if we do not forgive others, neither will our Father forgive us. I believe that this is a rather good reason. These two Scriptures come just after the Lord’s Prayer where Jesus said that we are to ask the Father to forgive us our debts, as we also are to forgive our debtors. Paul addressed this same issue in Ephesians 4:32 “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.” Choosing to forgive others is not only beneficial to them, but it is obedience and helpful to us. Unforgiveness is a heavy burden to bear and leads to bitterness, anger, and resentment.

Forgiveness does not mean that we forget what may have been done to us. It does mean that we forgive them as God has forgiven us. We may never remove the memory from our minds of what someone did to us, but we cannot let disobedience of not forgiving them rule in our hearts. We are never to repay evil for evil. There are times when not forgetting after forgiving may protect us in the future and from being walked over. There are also times in our lives when we need to walk away after we have forgiven someone. Jesus did on several occasions. If God removes someone from your life, do not go chasing after them. While forgetting is hard, forgiving should become obedience to each of us. The bottom line is found again in Colossians 3:13 “Forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.” This applies to us in every walk of life and especially with our wives, children, coworkers, church members, and friends. Take the lead.