Is There Someone You Need to Forgive?
Friday’s Verse:
From Colossians 3:13 ESV
“Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”
We know how burdensome it is to carry grudges. Someone utters hurtful words. A friend disappoints. A loved one repeats old offenses. Forgiveness may sound easy in the abstract, but it can feel so very slow. So expensive. So incomplete.
Saint Paul does not point us to our own ability. He points us to Christ. “Forgive others as I have forgiven you.” That makes all the difference. Forgiveness does not flow merely from us. It flows from the endless mercy we ourselves have been given.
In the Lutheran tradition, we say that grace is a gift. We don’t earn God’s forgiveness. It’s given to us. Jesus took our sins, our offenses, even our inability to forgive. Because of Christ, we are reconciled to God. Loved. Accepted. When we grasp that truth in our hearts, it loosens our grip of bitterness. It allows patience to grow. It enables us to forgive, even when pain lingers.
Letting go does not require ignoring the injury. Extending patience to others may mean having tough conversations, setting wise boundaries, and allowing time to pass. But it also means refusing to let resentment have the final say over our lives. Our forgiveness flows from the Cross. It’s not based on whether others deserve it. But because we have already been forgiven.
Take a few moments today to think of someone you struggle to forgive. Whisper that person’s name to God. Allow Him to remind you of just how far you have been forgiven. Then pray for the courage to take one step of mercy.
✝️ A Prayer for Today:
Lord Jesus, You took my sins and made me new. When I find my heart hardened and my patience wearing thin, remind me of Your grace. Teach me to be patient with others, as You are patient with me. Help me forgive others as You have forgiven me. Amen.
Apostles’ Creed:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Luther’s Morning Prayer:
I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.
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