Forgiveness is a very sensitive subject for many. When such a topic is brought up in a crowd, inevitably we end up seeing the group polarised. There will be a group who end up feeling guilty or condemned because they are struggling to forgive those who have done great harm to them. Then there will be a group who become defensive and feel they are justified in their actions because of the injustice that will occur should they forgive someone unconditionally.
The second of the three petitions in the Model Prayer Jesus taught his disciples is around forgiveness. Asking our Father to forgive us our sins isn’t the challenge. It is the connection Jesus made between God’s forgiveness and our forgiving others that makes the prayer a little more arduous. At the end of the prayer in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus further emphasises this connection between God’s forgiveness and our forgiving.
Matthew 6:14-15
“for if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your father forgive your trespasses.”
At first glance it would seem like Jesus is suggesting a trade off. “If you want forgiveness from God, you better forgive others.” Some may even read it with a legalistic tone – “forgive others or else…”. I’m not convinced Jesus was teaching that the Father’s forgiveness had a quid pro quo element to it. I believe Jesus was showing us the close connection God’s forgiveness has with our ability to forgive others. The Message translation seems to elude to this.
Matthew 6:12 (MSG)
Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.
Keep us forgiven, keep us forgiving
To be forgiven and to be forgiving are two sides of the same coin. We cannot experience forgiveness if we aren’t experiencing forgiving. The act of receiving forgiveness is inseparable from the act of giving forgiveness. The two are intrinsically linked together. Once we see the link between the experience of receiving love and the experience of giving love, the explanation Jesus gives in Matthew 6:14-15 begins to make sense.
Matthew 6:14-15
“for if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”
This is how I read the text in light of the connection between experiencing forgiveness from the Father and our ability to release forgiveness to others. If you want to experience true forgiveness, draw from your experience of receiving Divine forgiveness.
As you experience forgiveness from the Father, let it overflow through you by experiencing the act of forgiving another. The more we allow ourselves to experience forgiveness from the Father, the greater our ability to release forgiveness to others. In the same vein, when one chooses not to release forgiveness to another, that person restricts himself or herself from experiencing the forgiveness from the Father.
Excerpt from “The Model Prayer”, Andrew Kulasingham