Held Hostage By Unforgiveness

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. (Ephesians 4:32)

I encounter far too many people in the church who are held hostage by unforgiveness. What they need is a dose of Gospel forgiveness that Jesus shared with Peter: seventy times seven. Read on and be greatly encouraged today!

When we withhold forgiveness from others, we are holding on to some of the most damaging and deadly emotions we can experience:  hurt, blame, anger, and revenge. These toxic feelings not only cloud our judgment but discolor every aspect of our lives. I have said many times from the pulpit that unforgiveness does far more damage to the vessel in which it is stored than it does to the object on which it is poured.

When Peter asked Jesus about forgiveness, he knew that the rabbis taught that forgiveness was to be extended to the wrongdoer up to three times. So, Peter being Peter, he doubled that number plus one and suggested to Jesus that perhaps up to seven times should be a sufficient number of times to forgive a brother who had sinned against him. Jesus immediately course-corrected Peter by describing the kind of Gospel forgiveness that Peter had been given by God: “I tell you,” Jesus said to Peter, “not seven times, but seventy-seven times” (Matthew 18:22).

In the 2009 film Invictus, actor Morgan Freeman played the part of Nelson Mandala, who was imprisoned for 27-years, subsequently elected president of South Africa, and faced the daunting task of unifying a country that had been deeply divided by race. In one memorable scene, Mandela/Freeman says firmly, “Forgiveness starts here,” that is, with us. “Forgiveness liberates the soul. It removes fear. That is why it is such a powerful weapon. The past is the past, we look to the future.”

Have you been held hostage by unforgiveness? I think we all have from time to time. The key is to remember how unconditional God’s forgiveness is for us and trust Him for the strength to deliver it to anyone who has wronged us. Now, I am not saying this is easy to do! Some have endured unimaginable pain and hurt from others. That is why forgiveness can only be done in the strength of our Lord. We must never forget how our Lord offered forgiveness to His enemies as He hung on that cross, bleeding and dying for your sins and mine. When we do that, we will be given the strength to forgive even when we would rather not.

Let me close with these words from the 20th-century Christian theologian Lewis B. Smedes, who said, “To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.”

This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!