As We Forgive our Debtors
The Lord’s Prayer is concise, yet contains concepts that are essential for our relationship with our Father. I would like to focus on forgiveness of sins as an important feature in the Lord’s Prayer:
Matt 6:12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
What did Jesus mean when he included this phrase in this model prayer: “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors?” Christ illustrated the meaning of this with the following parable:
Matt 18:23 Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants.
24 And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents.
25 But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.
26 The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.
27 Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.
28 But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest.
29 And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.
30 And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.
31 So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done.
32 Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me:
33 Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?
34 And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.
35 So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.
The king in this parable represents God the Father. Because of our sinfulness we owe Him a great debt. We go to Him in prayer and offer Him the impossible: that we will pay that debt of sins to Him. He is compassionate and by the blood of Jesus forgives us our sins. We are free, justified and have no debt for our sins toward God.
Being forgiven we should have a change of attitude toward life. We are free by the grace of God. We can live a life of inexpressible joy. Our attitude toward our fellowmen should be the same as that of God toward us – happy to give space for happiness and forgiveness toward all our relations and associates. We should feel generous toward those in need, whatever their needs are.
God expects this change in our attitude toward life and our fellowman. However, if His grace has not changed us, and we hold on to cherished sins, then His forgiveness towards us becomes empty. God does not forgive us so that we can keep living in sin. His forgiveness should change us so that we will abhor sin and have a change of heart. We are human, and will find that our flesh is still weak, and we are still prone to sin, but this sinning is not our desire. If we harbour sin, then God cannot forgive us. That is why the parable ends with the servant finding another who owes him an insignificant debt, yet he has him imprisoned until he has paid the last penny, and pennies is all he owed. The king came to hear about his lack of forgiveness, and called this wicked servant back, retracted his forgiveness and had him imprisoned.
When someone has hurt us deeply, we may find it very hard to forgive that person. If we do not feel like forgiving someone, that is human and normal. We should pause and contemplate Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. He did not feel like forgiving us. He shrank from the burden of our sins and would rather not have forgiven us. Three times He prayed to the Father to remove from Him the burden of our sins, and God’s forgiveness toward us. Three times in prayer He asked the Father to remove the cup of forgiveness toward us. Three times the Father did not remove that cup, but provided support in the form of an angel to help Him accept the burden of that responsibility:
Matt 26:42 He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.
If we feel unable to forgive someone, we should agonise in prayer and ask the Father to help us drink that cup. This is His will. We should ask Him for help to forgive our debtors, then He will be able to forgive our debts.
May your day be debt free. Free from the debts that others owe you, and free from the debt that you owe the Father.
The Lord’s Prayer is concise, yet contains concepts that are essential for our relationship with our Father. I would like to focus on forgiveness of sins as an important feature in the Lord’s Prayer:
Matt 6:12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
What did Jesus mean when he included this phrase in this model prayer: “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors?” Christ illustrated the meaning of this with the following parable:
Matt 18:23 Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants.
24 And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents.
25 But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.
26 The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.
27 Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.
28 But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest.
29 And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.
30 And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.
31 So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done.
32 Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me:
33 Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?
34 And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.
35 So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.
The king in this parable represents God the Father. Because of our sinfulness we owe Him a great debt. We go to Him in prayer and offer Him the impossible: that we will pay that debt of sins to Him. He is compassionate and by the blood of Jesus forgives us our sins. We are free, justified and have no debt for our sins toward God.
Being forgiven we should have a change of attitude toward life. We are free by the grace of God. We can live a life of inexpressible joy. Our attitude toward our fellowmen should be the same as that of God toward us – happy to give space for happiness and forgiveness toward all our relations and associates. We should feel generous toward those in need, whatever their needs are.
God expects this change in our attitude toward life and our fellowman. However, if His grace has not changed us, and we hold on to cherished sins, then His forgiveness towards us becomes empty. God does not forgive us so that we can keep living in sin. His forgiveness should change us so that we will abhor sin and have a change of heart. We are human, and will find that our flesh is still weak, and we are still prone to sin, but this sinning is not our desire. If we harbour sin, then God cannot forgive us. That is why the parable ends with the servant finding another who owes him an insignificant debt, yet he has him imprisoned until he has paid the last penny, and pennies is all he owed. The king came to hear about his lack of forgiveness, and called this wicked servant back, retracted his forgiveness and had him imprisoned.
When someone has hurt us deeply, we may find it very hard to forgive that person. If we do not feel like forgiving someone, that is human and normal. We should pause and contemplate Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. He did not feel like forgiving us. He shrank from the burden of our sins and would rather not have forgiven us. Three times He prayed to the Father to remove from Him the burden of our sins, and God’s forgiveness toward us. Three times in prayer He asked the Father to remove the cup of forgiveness toward us. Three times the Father did not remove that cup, but provided support in the form of an angel to help Him accept the burden of that responsibility:
Matt 26:42 He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.
If we feel unable to forgive someone, we should agonise in prayer and ask the Father to help us drink that cup. This is His will. We should ask Him for help to forgive our debtors, then He will be able to forgive our debts.
May your day be debt free. Free from the debts that others owe you, and free from the debt that you owe the Father.
As We Forgive our Debtors
The Lord’s Prayer is concise, yet contains concepts that are essential for our relationship with our Father. I would like to focus on forgiveness of sins as an important feature in the Lord’s Prayer:
Matt 6:12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
What did Jesus mean when he included this phrase in this model prayer: “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors?” Christ illustrated the meaning of this with the following parable:
Matt 18:23 Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants.
24 And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents.
25 But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.
26 The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.
27 Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.
28 But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest.
29 And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.
30 And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.
31 So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done.
32 Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me:
33 Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?
34 And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.
35 So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.
The king in this parable represents God the Father. Because of our sinfulness we owe Him a great debt. We go to Him in prayer and offer Him the impossible: that we will pay that debt of sins to Him. He is compassionate and by the blood of Jesus forgives us our sins. We are free, justified and have no debt for our sins toward God.
Being forgiven we should have a change of attitude toward life. We are free by the grace of God. We can live a life of inexpressible joy. Our attitude toward our fellowmen should be the same as that of God toward us – happy to give space for happiness and forgiveness toward all our relations and associates. We should feel generous toward those in need, whatever their needs are.
God expects this change in our attitude toward life and our fellowman. However, if His grace has not changed us, and we hold on to cherished sins, then His forgiveness towards us becomes empty. God does not forgive us so that we can keep living in sin. His forgiveness should change us so that we will abhor sin and have a change of heart. We are human, and will find that our flesh is still weak, and we are still prone to sin, but this sinning is not our desire. If we harbour sin, then God cannot forgive us. That is why the parable ends with the servant finding another who owes him an insignificant debt, yet he has him imprisoned until he has paid the last penny, and pennies is all he owed. The king came to hear about his lack of forgiveness, and called this wicked servant back, retracted his forgiveness and had him imprisoned.
When someone has hurt us deeply, we may find it very hard to forgive that person. If we do not feel like forgiving someone, that is human and normal. We should pause and contemplate Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. He did not feel like forgiving us. He shrank from the burden of our sins and would rather not have forgiven us. Three times He prayed to the Father to remove from Him the burden of our sins, and God’s forgiveness toward us. Three times in prayer He asked the Father to remove the cup of forgiveness toward us. Three times the Father did not remove that cup, but provided support in the form of an angel to help Him accept the burden of that responsibility:
Matt 26:42 He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.
If we feel unable to forgive someone, we should agonise in prayer and ask the Father to help us drink that cup. This is His will. We should ask Him for help to forgive our debtors, then He will be able to forgive our debts.
May your day be debt free. Free from the debts that others owe you, and free from the debt that you owe the Father.
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