“You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body…Be kind to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:22-25, 32 NIV)
In the book Forgiven and Forgiving the author writes, “The Greek word that we translate as ‘forgive’ (aphíemi) means basically ‘to let go.’” Desmond Tutu said, “Without forgiveness, there is no future.” Both of these men expanded on the idea that we need to let go of the hurt of the past so that forgiveness can heal, restore trust and break cycles of resentment. This allows us to be freed from the bondage of the past, enables the restoration of relationships and allows us to move forward to a future created by God.
Putting off our old self and being made new in the attitude of our minds can only be done through allowing the Holy Spirit to break our human sense of fairness and replace it with God’s sense of fairness -- that we have experienced God’s forgiveness when we did not deserve it. That the Father allowed His son, Jesus, to die for us so we could be forgiven. It is this forgiveness that allows unity among believers to be restored and we can then see the church become more like Christ - a community of forgiveness and love.
Prayer Prompt: Abba, Father, help us to turn from the bondage of holding on to past hurts and our concept of fairness. May the Holy Spirit move among our community helping us to let go of what we hold onto so tightly. May we remember the time that we experienced Your forgiveness for who we were and break the hold of the past so that You may set us on a path to a future that brings forgiveness and unity in our church.
Song of the Day: Forgiveness - Matthew West
