Foundations for Forgiveness

Forgiveness is a very powerful act of reconciliation. Sin breaks down the trust in our relationships with God and with each other. The words, “you are forgiven” have transformational power to repair the broken relationships and to restore the trust that is the basis of the relationship.

In your relationships with God and with others you are constantly seeking forgiveness, offering forgiveness and at times wrestling with the request that someone makes of you to receive the assurance of your forgiveness. Forgiveness is critical to maintaining our relationships with others and with God.

There are times when it can dominate our prayer life as we seek forgiveness or as we search for the graciousness to offer forgiveness to others.

We are sometimes troubled by our sense of guilt and even after seeking God’s forgiveness and hearing the words of absolution; there remains a question about the reality of the forgiveness that we cannot seem to put behind us.

God forgives us, others forgive us and yet the act of forgiving ourselves seems to be a stumbling block to our experience of that forgiveness.

Another aspect of forgiveness sometimes disables the action we take in forgiving others. There are times when it is difficult to offer forgiveness. It may be because of the weight that the sin seems to carry or the number of times we have been offended by the same person or in the same way by others.

We become aware of the words of Jesus, “for if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father for give your trespasses.” (Matthew 6:14-15). It is when we seek forgiveness that we are overcome with the weight of those trespasses by others that we have not yet forgiven want to forgive but we cannot forget. Sin has left a scar that won’t go away and reminds us over and over again of the offense and the offender.

How do you develop the ability to live as God’s forgiven sinners and at the same time live as sinners who are forgiving of the sins against them? For me it begins with the realization that our sins are already forgiven. Scripture tells us that Jesus died once for all sins. (1 Peter 3:18) “Because Christ also once for all died for sins, the innocent One for the guilty many, in order to bring us to God….” God offers forgiveness to everyone for all their sins. This gift is bestowed upon us at baptism. The scriptures also tell us, “if we confess our sins, God who is faithful and just will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9).

Martin Luther urges us to live in out our baptism daily. We do that by renewing the covenant of grace that God initiated in the sacrament. In the Small Catechism Luther as the question, “What does baptism mean for daily living?” His answer is a call to repentance and therefore to forgiveness. He says, “It means that our sinful self with all its evil deeds and desires should be drowned though daily repentance; and that day after day a new self should arise to live with God in righteousness and purity forever.” Luther points us to Paul’s letter to the Romans 6:4 “ We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the father , we too might walk in the newness of life.”

Daily reminders of Baptism help us become aware of God’s gracious forgiveness that renews us in our relationships with him and with others—the splashing of water on our faces or with water making the sign of the cross on our foreheads are signs that bring baptism and God’s forgiveness into our everyday lives. We are reminded that we have been forgiven and that we live in the newness of life provided by God’s gracious forgiveness. That encourages us to let Godâi™s forgiveness flow through us to others. God forgives sins, we are only the instruments used by this gracious God to extend his love and grace to others.

God’s forgiven people grow in his grace as they allow the words of forgiveness to renew the relationships broken by sin to sustain them in the newness of life. Jesus has spoken the words clearly, “Your sins are forgiven.” That empowers the forgiven to share this good news with others as they declare forgiveness to those who sin against them. Forgiven people are forgiving people who live in the newness of the restored relationship with God and with all those who have been likewise forgiven.

Forgiving becomes a part of our daily living when we realize that it is God who forgives and he has spoken the words “Your sins are forgiven” to everyone. As that forgiveness is shared with others relationships are restored and life is new again.

Lord, Jesus, forgive my sins and help me to forgive those who sin against me. Amen.
“Forgive our sins as we forgive,” you taught us, Lord, to pray; But you alone can grant us grace To live the words we say. Lord, cleans the depths within our souls And bid resentment cease; Then, by your mercy reconciled our lives will spread your peace.” (Lutheran Book of Worship Hymn 307)