“For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.” (Matt. 6:14)
Expanded Passage: Matthew 6:14-15
This little two-letter word holds a lot of power: If. Parents use it frequently with their children: “If you eat four more bites of vegetables, you may have dessert.” (That may also be a tactic I use on my grown-up self, actually.) Our behavior brings rewards and consequences, depending on how we choose to respond to the if.
So it is with our God. We are his children, and he treats us as such. The choices are ours, but the consequences and blessings are his to offer. And in Matthew 6, God’s meaning is quite clear. If we choose to forgive those around us, we will also enjoy the blessing of God’s forgiveness. If we choose not to forgive, we will not enjoy the blessing of God’s forgiveness.
Forgiveness can be hard, can’t it? To forgive when we have been deeply wounded doesn’t come naturally or easily to most of us. It’s even harder when the offender doesn’t seem to recognize (or care about) the damage done to our hearts.
But God doesn’t say to forgive only those who fall at your feet and beg for your mercy. He says to forgive those who sin against you. Whether or not they repent, God wants your heart to be free of unforgiveness toward them. It’s not easy, but if he asks it of us, it is indeed possible and necessary.
Choose to forgive someone who has wounded you.
Bekah Shaffer lives in Kokomo, Indiana, and enjoys endless coffee, scrapbooking, speaking, and planning adventures with her husband, Ryan.
© 2025 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
