Hello, my name is Dakota. Today, I want to talk about “Forgiveness.” Forgiveness: a gift given to us by God, giving us a second chance to be obedient. God knows that as imperfect creatures we need forgiveness so our sins can be redeemed. We need forgiveness so we can love and be loved. We need forgiveness to forget the mistakes of the past, so we can move on and be happy and whole in the present and future.
Thankfully, our God is an understanding God and has given us the gift of forgiveness. Matthew 26:28 “For this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.” God’s gift of forgiveness resembles every other gift that has been given in the aspect that a price was paid. The price for forgiveness is death. Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” In the Old Testament the sacrifice of a lamb was the temporary price for sin. (Exodus 12 – 13) In the New Testament, the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, is the eternal price for sin.
Since God has forgiven us, we must forgive others. 2 Corinthians 2:10, “But whom you forgive anything, I forgive also, for indeed what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, I did it for your sakes in the presence of Christ.” God forgives those whom have forgiven. Matthew 6:14 – 15 “For if you forgive men for their transgressions, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men, then your Heavenly Father will not forgive your transgressions.” If we don’t forgive, then God won’t forgive us. God forgave us even when we crucified Jesus Christ. We shouldn’t be so reluctant to forgive but instead share forgiveness abundantly.
With all of our imperfections, God still loves us. With all of the mistakes we make, God forgives us. With all of our fleshly desires, He understands us. Our God is such a gracious and forgiving God. For us, blood was shed and hearts were broken, but forgiveness was given.
Forgiveness extremely impacted my life recently. I had someone I despised and hated. This person made mistakes that I thought I could never forgive. When I got saved, all of that changed. I realized that this person is human and makes mistakes; I realized that Jesus forgave us, and in return, I should be able to forgive this person.