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T<\/span>he Lord\u2019s Prayer<\/b>\u00a0is a prayer so many of us have known since childhood. Because it is so familiar to us, do we see what a big, exciting prayer it actually is? A prayer for the honour of God\u2019s name and the triumph of his cause; looking to the great day when every knee will bow and every tongue confess, \u2018Jesus Christ is Lord\u2019.<\/span><\/p>\n But the prayer also acknowledges that God\u2019s kingdom has not fully come.\u00a0We await the day of the return of the king<\/b>. And while we wait, are to pray for our present situation:\u00a0\u2018Give us today our daily bread\u2019<\/i>\u00a0or,\u00a0\u2018Give us today the bread of tomorrow,\u2019<\/i>\u00a0we pray.\u00a0Daily bread<\/i>\u00a0<\/b>means food for our physical bodies but also food for our souls.<\/span><\/p>\n But notice, there is something else we need to pray for \u2013\u00a0forgiveness<\/i><\/b>.\u00a0\u201cForgive us our sins\u00a0<\/i>or,\u00a0trespasses<\/i>, as\u00a0we forgive those who sin against us,\u201d<\/i>\u00a0\u00a0Jesus taught (Matthew 6:12).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Have you ever paused at these words and reflected<\/b>: \u2018Who haven\u2019t I forgiven?\u2019 And then someone comes to mind.\u00a0\u00a0What do you do with thought?<\/span><\/p>\n There is a sting here<\/b>, for Jesus is saying that if we expect God to forgive us, we need to know deep down that we have forgiven those who have wronged us.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n And in case we miss the point in the prayer, we can\u2019t easily overlook Jesus comment in Matthew 6:14:\u00a0\u2018For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive you your trespasses.\u2019<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n Chilling words!<\/b>\u00a0If we are not willing to hold out forgiveness to others, God will not forgive us. In Colossians 3:13 Paul the Apostle puts it this way:\u00a0Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgives you<\/i>\u00a0(Colossians 3:14).<\/span><\/p>\n God has every reason to be hostile towards us<\/b>. In our natural state we are his enemies. We flout his law, and we ignore him. But what has God done? When Christ died on the cross he took into himself the pain that we caused. If God has been willing to make that kind of sacrifice for us, shouldn\u2019t we also be prepared to find it in our hearts to forgive those who have wronged us?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n It is said a friend once reminded Clara Barton, the founder of the American Red Cross, of a particularly cruel thing someone had done to her. Clara Barton didn\u2019t seem to remember it. \u2018But you must,\u2019 her friend said. \u2018No\u2019, was the reply,\u00a0\u2018I distinctly remember forgetting it.\u2019<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n To hold out forgiveness does not necessarily mean reconciliation<\/b>. For in the same way we need to turn to Jesus Christ with an honest, repentant spirit, so anyone who has wronged us also needs to repent. It\u2019s true in church, in a marriage, in a family, and the community.<\/span><\/p>\n But\u00a0the starting point needs to be a change of heart within us<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 a willingness to forgive.\u00a0Forgive as the Lord forgave you<\/i>, says Paul. Put on love which binds you all together<\/i>. Paul knew how easy it is for us to be divided. He knows the corrosive effect of wounded feelings. But he also knows of one force that can heal and enable us to grow into maturity \u2013 Love.<\/span><\/p>\n Love is patient and kind<\/i><\/b>, he writes in 1 Corinthians 13.\u00a0Love<\/i><\/b>\u00a0does not insist on its own way.<\/span><\/p>\n Love\u00a0<\/i><\/b>is not irritable or resentful.\u00a0Love<\/i><\/b>\u00a0bears all things, endures all things, and hopes all things. Love is optimistic. The idea of division and resentment is too painful where love operates. \u2018Put on love,\u2019 he says.\u00a0\u00a0\u2018It is like a supernatural glue.\u2019<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n This is where God\u2019s people, as individuals and in our churches, should be so different from the culture. The New Testament insists that\u00a0the church is the one place where the ethics of heaven ought to prevail<\/b>\u00a0\u2014 the ethics of love and mercy, of loving our enemies, of being reconciled with one another rather than taking revenge or personal retribution. God expects us to go the way of grace rather than demanding strict justice. As God\u2019s people we should be able to function on the principle of turning the other cheek.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Consider those who have wronged you<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 those you resent and feel angry towards. \u2018Pray about your attitude,\u2019 says Paul. Can you forgive them?\u00a0\u00a0Do you care for them? Above all will you love them?<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" FORGIVENESS T<\/span>he Lord\u2019s Prayer\u00a0is a prayer so many of us have known since childhood. Because it is so familiar to us, do we see what a big, exciting prayer it actually is? A prayer for the honour of God\u2019s name and the triumph of his cause; looking to the great day when every knee will […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":460,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-316","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-word-on-wednesday"],"yoast_head":"\nAM I STILL WITHHOLDING FORGIVENESS?<\/h2>\n
WILLING HEARTS<\/h2>\n