Watch the video below to learn what true forgiveness looks like – the loving forgiveness Christ has for us!
Sometimes it seems as if the world has forgotten what forgiveness is. Many grow up in families where the parents never quite forgave each other, or are surrounded by friends who hold a grudge against each other. Where can they go for an example of true forgiveness?
Jesus is the person we can model our forgiveness after. His forgiveness is radically selfless.
Jesus forgave us even when it hurt Him.
He knew that He couldn’t just ignore our sins; they had to be paid for. For that reason, He endured the excruciating pain of the cross, along with verbal torment from the people He loved. In the same way, we should forgive others “70 times 7 times”, even if it causes us pain.
Jesus forgave even those who didn’t ask for forgiveness.
During the thousands of years before Jesus was born on earth, there were people who cried out to God for forgiveness with a heart of repentance. However, there were also those who turned their backs on God and didn’t see the need for repentance. But did Jesus die only for the people who asked? No! He forgave everybody, so that if they turned to Him from their sins they could be in a relationship with God. Jesus took the first step.
Jesus doesn’t count our sins.
When Jesus forgives us of our sins, He means it. He completely wipes our sins away, so that they no longer count in His eyes. To Him, we’re as white as snow. For that reason, when we sin again, He doesn’t say “that’s two”. He simply forgives us again. In the same way, when someone hurts us, we should forgive. We shouldn’t consider all the previous times that person sinned against us. We should simply forgive again.
R.C. Sproul is a well-known conservative author, pastor, and theologian. He’s also chairman and founder of the influential Lignier Ministries.
Did you enjoy this video? Be sure to check out Carol Round’s encouraging article about seeing God’s blessings in the mundane!
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