Together in Christ: 'My Responsibility to Forgive' — Colossians 3:13

Jesus told a powerful parable to emphasize how much God had forgiven us in comparison to what He asks us to forgive in each other. ^[1] The Lord made clear that grave consequences await any of His followers who refuse to forgive others. ^[2] The Lord even emphasized in His Model Prayer that God would forgive us only to the extent we have forgiven others. ^[3] The Bible tells us that God longs to forgive us but also expects us to pass along that forgiveness to others. Notice Paul's emphatic words to us: "Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others." (The word "must" was underlined so we would not miss the divine necessity Paul is communicating.)

The Scriptures stress that forgiveness is a necessary attribute in every child of God. But forgiveness does not begin with us. We are never the first ones to forgive. God has lavished His grace, mercy, and forgiveness upon us. ^[4] He forgave us first and when we were unworthy of it. ^[5] God has promised to continually fill us with the Holy Spirit to help us love and forgive. ^[6] So, He expects us to forgive others!

In Christ, we "make allowance for each other's faults" and forgive each other because Jesus has already paid the price for our sins and the sins of the one who has offended or wounded us. If we do not become conduits of this forgiveness, then resentment, bitterness, and hatred will poison our hearts and grieve the Spirit of God within us. ^[7] So, let's ask God to empower us by the Holy Spirit to be conduits of His love, grace, mercy, and forgiveness!