The POWER OF “AS”
Matthew 6:12 (NKJV) And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors”
“As” is a small little 2 letter word, but it carries quite a powerful revelation in our key scripture.
Perhaps you have heard or may have even said one of the following: “I may forgive you, but I will never forget”! “They didn’t apologize or ask for forgiveness, so I don’t have to forgive them!” “Bump my head once, shame on you; Bump my head twice, shame on me”! “Jesus may forgive you, but I’m not Jesus”! “I don’t believe that their apology is sincere, so I don’t have to accept it”! You may know of others.
Now, why is that little word “AS” so powerful? Well, it lets us know that forgiveness is “fluid”, meaning that we are forgiven AS we forgive others. Let’s see what the Bible actually says. Let’s go to the book of Matthew, Chapter 6 where we find the Lord’s Prayer. Verses 12, 14, 15 (NLT) “and forgive us our sins, AS we have forgiven those who sin against us. 13 And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one. 14 “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. 15 But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins. If we look a little closer to Verse 12, we find that the fluidity of the Lord’s forgiveness is contingent upon our forgiveness of others. If you have ever prayed The Lord’s Prayer, (and most of us have), you have acknowledged undertanding this very thing.
Why do I say that forgiveness is fluid? Actually, I am glad that you asked that question! AS we are willing and allow the gift of forgiveness to flow from our hearts to someone who has hurt and harmed us, then God has promised to forgive our sins. We can trust Him to keep His Word. Numbers 23:19 (NLT) “God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through?
Sometimes we get hung up on the erroneous belief that if we forgive someone, we are also saying that what that person has done to us is okay. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Actually, unforgiveness ties us to that person. In reality, forgiveness frees us from that person and puts us in right standing with God. We must trust that God meant what He said in Romans 12:19 (ESV) “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”’
Blessings.
~CWP~
Love this! I aim to always walk in forgiveness.
ReplyDeleteYes! We have to be intentional in walking in forgiveness, and need to commit to checking daily to hold ourselves accountable. If we ask the Holy Spirit to alert or convict us when unforgiveness is forming inside us, He is faithful to do that, so that we may repent immediately. Thank you for your comment.
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