Monday, April 14, 2008

 

Unconditional Love Series

 

Matthew 6:14-15 “For if you forgive others when they sin against you, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”  

 

On God’s Behalf

 

In thirty years of ministry I have heard so many stories of heartbreak where people have gone out of their way to hurt other people.   They have done things to belittle, humiliate, and cause personal pain and heartache.   I have listened to the stories and seen the brokenness on people’s faces.   My heart broke as people told me stories of the struggles they have experienced in life. 

 

When I perform baptism services I take the babies into my arms and on behalf of God, I baptize them.  During Confirmation I pray confirmation of the faith in Jesus as I hold my hands on the head of each confirmand.   With my hands I take the hand of the bride from her father and give it to the groom and administer the vows of marriage to each couple.   At funerals I offer summary on people’s lives and on behalf of God offer words of grief.   Each Sunday I offer words of encouragement, consolation, insight, and courage to the people who are present.   I am always conscious that many of the words I speak, I speak on God’s behalf. 

 

On God’s behalf I want to say to you how sorry I am that people have mistreated you.   On God’s behalf I say to you I know how painful the hurts have been.  I’m sorry.  I’m sorry you were abused when you were a child.  I’m sorry for what thoughtless people have done.  I’m sorry your husband left you, your wife rejected you, your children didn’t follow your instructions, your teachers or boss humiliated you.  I’m sorry for the thousand hurts that you have experienced.  

 

Colossians 3:13 says, “Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.  Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”   Jesus taught us to say in the Lord’s Prayer “forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors.”    He adds in the same chapter, “For if you forgive others when they sin against you, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”   

 

If we can forgive, if we can experience God’s forgiveness, our lives can be free.   Without the experience of forgiveness our lives remain broken.   We may not be able to help what others did to us but on God’s behalf, I tell you, you don’t have to remain there.   Freedom from the hurts is within your power to experience.   God grants us unconditional forgiveness as we experience the power of unconditional forgiving. 

 

Prayer:

Dear God, I so need forgiveness.   Amen.