A Thought For The Week Of January 7

"if you forgive others for their sins, your Father in heaven will also forgive you." (Matthew 6:14) It seems to me that all life requires a healthy dose of forgiveness. Let's face it - there are all sorts of things people have done to do each one of us over the years that have hurt us and caused us anguish. Some people choose to nurture those hurts and live with resentment, so that they simply descend into bitterness and get little enjoyment out of it. That's not much of a way to live. But there's more to it than just taking the enjoyment out of our lives. Let's be honest. As much as others have hurt us, we've also hurt others. Maybe not deliberately, but we have. In other words, we need forgiveness too. And as much as we've hurt others, we've also sometimes hurt God by choosing to live in ways that haven't honoured God, haven't reflected Jesus, and haven't borne faithful witness to the gospel. The good news is that God does forgive us. Forgiving others isn't the "price" we pay to be forgiven by God. God's forgiveness comes from grace, and grace is something that can't be earned. But as people who are forgiven, we need to also be people who are forgiving. We can't in good conscience accept forgiveness without offering it as well. And it doesn't matter whether people do forgive us; the point is that we ask for forgiveness, and seek to be reconciled to those we've hurt. How they respond is between them and God, but by making the effort, we've honoured God. Have a great week!