Freedom from the past
Published 12:00 am Saturday, February 11, 2023
“Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” Matthew 6:12
Every day, my prayers include asking for forgiveness. Not a day goes by that I don’t feel the need to ask the Lord for another chance. When such thoughts of sin exist, I feel imprisoned with emotions of guilt, anger, frustration, and regret. My wish is to feel free again.
In the model prayer, Jesus encourages us to pray, “Forgive us our debts.” A debt is the price required by our offense. The debt is the consequence of crossing a line, offending others, and destroying peace and harmony.
When we ask the Lord to forgive our debts, we are asking Him to pay the price so we can enjoy the life we lost through of our mistakes and failures. Jesus assures us the price is paid through His sacrifice. If we confess our sins, He forgives us of all unrighteousness.
The question is whether we believe we are forgiven. If we believe in forgiveness, we practice it with others. Many a person has repeatedly prayed for forgiveness, yet never felt free of the issue. To find freedom for the past, we must mirror what we have sought from the Lord. We must forgive.
When this step repels us because we know the fault of others against us, we show that we have forgotten that we are equally in need of forgiveness. The very essence of Christ’s mission was to offer forgiveness to the unforgiveable so that they are restored in fellowship with Him, and His followers.
Forgiving others frees us from the shackles of the past. We are free, not because of their response, but because we are reminded of the Lord’s response to us. In the practice of forgiving, we relive the moment Jesus forgave us, instead of the moment we were offended.
Corrie Ten Boom told of returning to Germany after World War II to encourage the Germans in their relationship with God. She told of a night when she saw in the meeting, a guard from the prison camp in which she and her sister were incarcerated. Her sister died in that camp. This man made all the horrible atrocities of the past surface in her. He approached her with hand extended and told Corrie that since the war, he had come to Jesus. He asked her to forgive him. With heart full of emotions, she reached out, and shook his hand. It was in that moment, she felt freedom from that chapter in her life. Though complete healing from such wounds would take more time, the healing began when she expressed forgiveness to the guard.
We will never be free from the past by reliving it. We are free from the past when we focus on Jesus instead of circumstances; and we share His love through forgiveness to another. Every day, all need to be set free from the past again. “Lord forgive!”
Bro. John