A Forgiving Heart”

A Christian’s Heart

“A Forgiving Heart”

Watch on YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBDtCJO12I8

Whenever I counsel people when relational problems are present, I say that this one quality is the most important, but it is also the hardest to put into practice.

Let me begin our study by saying that we’re all going to be hurt by someone, somewhere, and at some time. It may be something someone says, or a parent or friend’s broken promise, or it could be a spouse’s unfaithfulness. In fact, it could be different things, or all of the above at the same time.

These hurts may be verbal in what others say or the names they call us. It may be non-verbal, such as people turning their backs on us, or a lack of affection.

But God offers unlimited forgiveness and tells us that we need to do the same for others if we not only want to be forgiven by God, but also if we want to have hearts filled with forgiveness.

When Peter came to Jesus asking how often he should forgive someone who does something wrong, Jesus told him to do it for as long as it takes saying we’re to forgive up to seventy time seven (Matthew 18:21-22).

Now Jesus wasn’t saying 490 times, rather He was saying that we are to forgive as long as it takes for forgiveness to take root within our hearts. And we’ll know when that is when we no longer remember the wrong against that person, and it no longer eats our guts out when we see them or hear their names.

Another important truth that we need to get out of the way is that forgiveness has nothing to do with forgetfulness. In other words, I’m not talking about a forgetting heart, but a forgiving heart.

There’s a myth that says forgiving is forgetting. We’ve all have either heard or said, “Forgive and forget.” But that’s a myth because every time we try to forget something, all we do is end up remembering it. So, we’ll be a lot happier when we’re less forgetting and more forgiving.

This is God’s way. He forgives our sins; He doesn’t forget them. And while the writer of Hebrews says that God will forgive and remember our sins no more (Hebrews 8:12), it’s not that He forgets them. If God forgets anything it means He is no longer God, because God cannot forget. Instead, God chooses to no longer remember our sins against us, or as the Bible says, God keeps no ledger of our wrongs, and neither should we.

A forgiving heart is therefore what we need and what we’re after. But how do we obtain it? We obtain a forgiving heart only when we realize just how much God has forgiven us.

“And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:32 NKJV)

When we consider everything that others have done to us, and then consider everything we’ve done to andagainst God, and knowing that He’s forgiven us; forgiving others should be our natural response.

Think of it this way. When we place the pile of wrongs other people have done against us along side the pile of wrongs we’ve done against God, then we’ll realize how very small these other piles of wrongs against us are as compared to our wrongs against God.

I remember one person asking how I could forgive them, seeing how they absolutely devastated my world. The reason I remember my response is because the shock it registered on their face.

I said, “How can I not forgive you seeing how much God has forgiven me!”

It’s far easier to have a forgiving heart when we not only feel forgiven, but when we also realize just how much God has forgiven us.

I’d like to begin our study by sharing three aspects of a forgiving heart.

First, a forgiving heart is a heart filled with compassion.

A Heart of Compassion

A forgiving heart is a heart of compassion that comforts others in their time of need.

This is brought out in Paul’s second letter to the Corinthian church.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4 NKJV)

God continues to forgive us, showing His unmerited favor and unconditional love, and this is what we should be doing and showing others. Shouldn’t we show the same compassion God has shown us? Shouldn’t we comfort others the same way God has comforted us in our time of need?

This is actually the heart of Jesus. Jesus said, “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11:29 NKJV)