Forgive. One. Another.

“And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.” Ephesians 4:32

“Wake up, wake up!”

John opened his eyes. The sun was just starting to creep up over the horizon. Not a cloud in the sky. The weather was expected to be in the mid to upper 60’s, and it looked like it was going to be a beautiful day.

He sat up on the edge of his bed. Nearing his 43rd birthday, John had finally gotten to a point in his life where he had all of his bills and loans paid off. No more worrying about where he was going to find enough money to pay the light bill. No more digging through cupholders to try to find spare change for a cup of coffee. Things were finally starting to look good. 

He had a good paying job that he enjoyed, most of the time. Near the end of the week he looked forward to the weekend like most others, but it was a good job. With all of his loans paid off, he could finally start to get a few nicer things. He recently had purchased a couple of atv’s to go out riding with his son, who had just turned 16. Work had kept him away from home a little longer than usual, so this weekend would be the first time they would get to take them out for a ride.

“Dad, wake up! Let’s get going!”

“Just a minute! I’m getting dressed, so go pack a few things to eat.”

Last night they had picked out a place to ride. It was a beautiful area with streams and hills, filled with wildlife. And it was only a short drive away, so it wouldn’t take long to get there. 

Grabbing his keys and locking the house, they were ready to go. He checked the straps holding the atv’s to the trailer to make sure they were tight and after a quick stop at the gas station to top off the gas tanks, they were on their way.

Arriving at their destination, John backed the atv’s off the trailer, stored all of their food and water into some packs, and off they went. 

After an hour, they found a nice place to take a break. The area they were in was a rather hilly area, so it was also a popular hiking area as well, so there were a couple of picnic tables for people to rest on.

“Let’s take a fifteen minute break here, and then we can go and ride some more,” John told his son. “Bring the food from your pack, and put it on the tables, OK? I lost my sunglasses just over the hill. I think a tree branch knocked them off my hat, I’ll be back in a minute. We’ll just park over there, by the edge of the hill.”

John’s legs were slightly stiff, so the short walk to get his glasses would feel good. It took a few minutes, but he eventually located them. Wiping the dust off, he turned back to his son. But when he turned around, he felt a chill go through him, because where there had been two atv’s, now there was only one. His son was still busy unpacking the snacks, so he hadn’t ridden off without him, so where was it?

He took two steps, and then he heard a noise that made him shudder inside. The sound of plastic cracking, and metal grinding against stone. His son heard the noise at the same time and turned around and looked where it was coming from, and froze.

A few moments later John stood at the edge of the hill with his son, and what he saw confirmed what he already knew in his mind. Down at the bottom the hill was the other atv, completely destroyed. 

A minute of silence ensued as it sunk in, until John quietly asked his son, “Did you put the brake on like I showed you the other day when we loaded them onto the trailer?” 

His eyes downcast, his son took a moment to answer. “No, I forgot. And I know it’s too late to reverse what happened, but I am sorry.”

Just as he opened his mouth to scold his son, John immediately closed it, and remained quiet, because it was at that moment that he remembered something that had happened to him many, many years ago when he was a young man. When he had turned 16, he got his drivers license and his dad had let him drive the family car to go get something from the store. It had been snowing the past few days, but the storm finally had passed so his dad let him go by himself. His dad just gave him a warning to watch out for spots of ice on the road. 

The thrill of driving was still new to young John, so he was excited. He carefully made it to town without incident and got the things he needed, and headed back towards home. Feeling confident in his driving skills, he took his eyes off the road for a moment to grab a snack from the backseat. It was at that moment, when he turned slightly to reach behind him, that he slightly jerked on the steering wheel and the car started to slide. Immediately panicking, he jerked the wheel the other way, and stomped on the brakes, putting the entire car into a spin, and into a telephone pole. 

John didn’t remember much else about that accident, but he did remember vividly walking home to face his dad and tell him what happened. His dad listened to what happened, remaining silent and obviously disappointed. Apologizing, John sat down on the couch, and fearfully waited to hear his punishment. 

Letting out a deep sigh, John’s dad said, “Come here.” Eyes downcast, John rose up from the couch and stood in front of his dad, eyes closed and expecting the worst. But instead what he felt was a warm, gentle embrace and the words,

“I forgive you.”

This memory flooded back to John as he looked down at the heap that was one of his atv’s. Turning to look at his son, he saw himself, many years ago. 

“Come here,” he told his son. Nervously, his son came over, not wanting to look him in the eyes and stood silently. Gently wrapping his arms around his son, John said the words,

“I forgive you.”

This story illustrates the verse that we are studying today. The word forgive means to stop feeling anger, resentment, or vengeance towards someone for an offense, flaw, or mistake. It is to pardon someone or grant remission.

If a person sins or commits an offense toward someone, and feels sorry about what they did and repents, the person who has had the wrong done to them needs to forgive the offending party. 

Peter asked Jesus about forgiveness in Matthew 18.

Matthew 18:21-22, “Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.”

The basic point of this verse is that we need to continually forgive others when they come forward and repent of their sins. They might sin against you every day, or twice a day, but if they are sorry and repentant of their actions, we are required to forgive them.

The reason why is because that is what God the Father does for us, and everyone else in the entire world. That is what He did for Paul, Peter, John, and all of the other apostles. He forgives the man in jail who used to rob banks, and that man realizes that what he did was wrong and he comes to God asking for forgiveness for his past deeds. God forgives those who were once filled up with pride and arrogance, feeling that they were better than everyone else, but now they have changed, and are filled with meekness and humility and put the needs of others before their own.

God is waiting to forgive. He wants to forgive. What needs to happen first though is a repentant heart, and a willing mind to change. 

And that brings us back to the verse at the very start of this study. Forgiving others as God has forgiven us. It may be difficult sometimes, but when someone asks to be forgiven, it is commanded that we forgive them.

Because that person who wronged you was you at one point. At some point in your life, you came to God seeking forgiveness. What if when you asked God for forgiveness He said, “No, I don’t think I will forgive you.” How would you be able to attain everlasting life in Heaven? Since there is no sin in Heaven, we need to have those sins taken away? But if God didn’t forgive us, how would we get there?

But that is not what God says to us. He has an abundance of mercy and forgiveness. And so should we. 

Forgive each other, as God has forgiven you. Don’t deny someone forgiveness, because I can guarantee you that when you stand before God at Judgement Day, you don’t want to be turned away, all because you didn’t forgive someone else. 

“For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” Matthew 5:14-15

Forgive. One. Another.

In Christ, 

Andrew