"For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions" Mathew 6:14-15
And there goes my pity party. Talk about ruining the mood...
When I was a teenager, I used to hate going to my father for advice. Not only was I going through that typical "I-know-everything" phase, but my father wasn't the best person to go to for sympathy. I would come home whining and complaining about how some friend had wronged me (ah, the drama of a sixteen year old!). My dad would sit back in his Laz-e-boy recliner and when I was done with my rant about how I was the most mis-used person in the world, he would turn the tables on me. "Well, what do you think you did to make her do that?"
And it crushed me. At the time, I felt like my father felt that the whatever the situation, it was my fault, when really, he was trying to get me to see the situation more clearly. Had I made some off-hand comment that had offended my friend without me realizing? Maybe I was the one acting like a poor friend. Or maybe I just needed to re-think my relationships in general, distancing myself from those who repeatedly tried to emotionally harm me.
It's taken me almost ten years to get what my father was trying to say. And it's taken the same amount of time to get what my Heavenly Father has been trying to say about forgiveness. Christ promised us freedom. By refusing to forgive, I'm refusing His freedom, and choosing to remain chained...even to my sins.
"Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering." Matthew 5:23-24
Being unforgiving can keep us from growing emotionally and spiritually. I've wasted many years by holding on to "rightful" grudges. I don't want to waste any more.
