Forgiven Debts
Forgiven Debts. Forgive us . . . as we forgive! Jesus continues His Sermon on the Mount narrative with the Lord's Prayer, this time addressing, "Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors."
And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
Matthew 6:12, NKJV
And forgive us our sins,
For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
Luke 11:4, NKJV
Forgiven Debts
Forgive us . . . as we forgive! In those few words we see the true substance of Matthew 6:12. But, why do we need to be forgiven? We are just as good, maybe even better, than our neighbor. We treat others kindly, and try not to be too selfish. We have not murdered nor stolen from others, so what need is there for forgiveness?
Our difficulty, when it comes to forgiveness, is that we constantly
compare ourselves to other people, and usually find that we come out
pretty good! Oh, we know we are not perfect, but, then, nobody is
perfect. Right?
In the end, however, it is not people who condemn us! It is God who
condemns us. Why? God is holy, righteous, just, and completely good. In
His pure holiness He cannot even look upon sin. That is our problem. No
matter how good we may look or actually be, compared to others, we
always fall short when we stand before God. No man, woman, or child can
stand before God, for their sin, no matter how small in comparison to
others, is blatantly hideous in the sight of God.
Is there no hope? Yes, there is hope, for Christ, the righteous and holy
Son of God came to this earth for the sole purpose of purchasing
salvation for His children. Through His shed blood, He has provided a
perfect covering of our sin, so that when we stand before God, He does
not see our sin, but sees, rather, the perfect blood of Christ.
To what do we owe this salvation? It is all of Christ and none of us. We
are not worthy the least of His favor, This idea is expressed
beautifully in this hymn, entitled, "I Am Not Worthy."
I am not worthy the least of His favor,
But Jesus left heaven for me;
The Word became flesh and He died as my Savior,
Forsaken on dark Calvary.
Chorus:
I am not worthy this dull tongue repeats it!
I am not worthy this heart gladly beats it?
Jesus left heaven to die in my place
What mercy, what love and what grace!
I am not worthy the least of His favor,
But "In the beloved" I stand;
Now I'm an heir with my wonderful Savior,
And all things are mine at His hand.
I am not worthy the least of His favor,
But He is preparing a place
Where I shall dwell with my glorified Savior,
Forever to look on His face.
Considering these things, what are we to do? Jesus said, "Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors."
God, through Christ, has forgiven our debts, and we need to look to
others who are hopelessly lost and forgive them as well. We need to
reach out with the Gospel of salvation, and pray for those who have not
found the peace and comfort of Christ.
That
is why we are here! We are not home yet--we have not reached the gates
of heaven, which means, we still have a job to do for the kingdom of
Christ.
Forgiven Debts! Go,
then, this day, and pray for wisdom and strength to live this day as
God intended for you to live it. Pray that God will help you to remember
to forgive others as He has forgiven you!
Devotional Reflections from the Bible
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