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Apr 12, 2023 18:30pm

Un-forgiveness Hinders

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Fall Festivals were always the highlight of the year at my school. I looked forward to it all year long. The whole school would be involved and every class would pick a game or attraction and would host it. Everyone came on the big night to enjoy fun, food and seeing all your friends.

I remember walking into the Home Ec building and something was on the floor. As I got closer, I could see it was numbers that had been taped down to the floor in a large square. The cake walk. I jumped on a square, the music began to play and I walked. I was nervous. Would I win? Which was the perfect number to be on? Would they draw my number out when there were so many others? The music stopped. The anticipation was growing. I watched their hand pull out a number. I kept saying mine over and over just in case I would forget it. They called out the number. It was mine! I won a cake! Not just a little Debbie cake, I won a real, homemade cake! Excitement was an understatement! After we got home with it, I wanted to enjoy my first piece. Of course, everybody else wanted some, too. But I was upset. This was MY cake. My parents told me I had to share with my brother and sister. But I didn’t want to. “But they don’t deserve it”, I cried. “Neither did you”, they reminded me. I had done nothing to earn this reward. It was given to me. If my siblings didn’t deserve it, I surely didn’t either.

“And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.” (Mark 11:25-26)

Forgiveness. I’m guessing you’ve struggled with this, too? As my father in-law says while he’s preaching, “don’t let me be alone in here.” Someone betrayed you. Someone upset you. They took something that was yours, they offended you in some way, or a situation occurred and you felt they wronged you. We feel we have every right to be mad and hold a grudge. Our hearts are flooded with indignation and our judgment is clouded with distrust, anger and resentment. But then, we come across this statement, this command that we are to forgive others. And we stop right there. No. Why not? Because they don’t deserve it. And our Father reminds us… Neither did you.

I know it’s hard. But when God puts it like that, who am I to argue? If He could forgive me for the things I have done, how can I not forgive someone else? Reach out to them today. Un-forgiveness hinders our relationship with one another, with the church and with the Father.