Mensa Otabil - The Power of Forgiveness
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Luke 17:4 and 5, «And if he sins against you seven times in a day and seven times in a day returns to you saying, 'I repent, ' you shall forgive him.» And the apostles said to the Lord, «Increase our faith.»
It’s just interesting, uh, when the apostles of Jesus Christ were asking for increased faith, they were not looking for increased faith to cast out demons or increased faith to move mountains; they were looking for increased faith to forgive. Today, I’m talking about the faith to forgive. The apostles observed the wonderful miracles of Jesus; they saw Him do all kinds of things and they were impressed by that. But this statement of Jesus seemed to top it all for them. It seemed bigger than everything that they had seen. Jesus talked about that if somebody offends you and keeps repenting, He says you have to forgive them. In their minds, it was an impossible thought. How do you keep forgiving people over and over and over again? So they said, «Lord, increase our faith.»
Now, when Jesus told His disciples to forgive, who was going to be the beneficiary? Was it the person who has offended them or the disciples who are doing the forgiving? In essence, forgiveness benefits the one who forgives far more than the person who has offended because unforgiveness can become a big hindrance to you. That’s why Jesus says no matter how many times they offend you, you have to forgive because it’s in your own interest to forgive so that the root of bitterness does not poison you, so your relationship with God is clear, and so your mind is clear in all that you do.
So, one of the disciplines that every Christian must develop, as hard as it was for the disciples and as hard as it is for us, is to learn to forgive. Is it going to be easy? No way. If it were easy, the disciples would not say, «Increase our faith.» But it is necessary for your own good to forgive, for your own good to step out from bitterness and from anger and from frustration and from hatred. You should not always be preoccupied with doing harm to somebody. If you do that, all your energies in life, all your skills, all your abilities, and your creativity will go into punishing people instead of making a better life for yourself. That is why forgiveness gives you peace of mind. It gives me peace of mind. It’s hard to ask for increased faith, but it’s possible, and we must do it.
So, have you been hurt? Is there somebody in your life who is constantly bugging you, harassing you, always stepping on your toes, always doing something that throws you off? Do they ask for forgiveness? If they do, forgive them. If they don’t even ask for forgiveness, you have to learn to move past that. Forgiveness is our way of moving past people’s actions; it’s our way of jumping ahead. It’s our way of focusing on the bigger picture of our life. So if somebody is hurting you, if somebody is bugging you all the time, if somebody is always creating turmoil inside you, you have to get over it.
The way to get over it is through forgiveness. It doesn’t mean that just because you have forgiven the person, you are not aware of the harm they are causing or the damage. You have to be aware, but in your own interest, you have to get beyond it because our lives must not be controlled by hatred, by pain, by hurt, or by bitterness. The way to do that is to learn to forgive for your own peace of mind and sanity. You better forgive and move on with your life, move on with God’s purpose for your life, move on with the assignment that God has for you, and make your life better each day as you step beyond the hurts that people throw your way.
Let’s pray. Say with me, «Heavenly Father, take vengeance out of my heart. Give me the strength to forgive those who offend me. In Jesus' name, amen and amen.»