“And forgive us our debts, As We forgive our debtors.” The point is emphasized when Christ comments “If ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matt. 6:12, 15).
Nothing is more important to us than having God forgive our sins; if He does not, we die in them. Yet the forgiveness we desperately need is predicated upon our forgiving those who sin against us.
What does it mean to forgive another? Does forgiving mean forgetting? Does it mean evening the score but doing no more? Or do we forgive when we are pleasant to the person’s face but harbor bitterness and revenge in our heart?
In the parable of the unmerciful servant, Jesus clearly explains the matter (Matt. 18:23-35). The king represents God, the servant is ourself, the debt owed signifies sins against God. The servant owed 10,000 talents ($5,250,000) and could not pay. (The amount in verse 28 equals $8.70 which is 1/600,000th of the larger sum. By these figures, Christ is emphasizing how much more serious are our sins against God than those committed against ourselves). When the servant threw himself on the king’s mercy, his master “forgave him the debt” (verse 27). The man went out free of his burden. Now that he was forgiven, the servant, his wife, family and goods were treated just as if he had never owed the money.
Christ’s lesson to this point is clear. Like the servant, our sins before God are such that it is impossible for us to make personal restitution for them. But if we throw ourselves on His mercy, He will have compassion on us and will forgive. We can then be freed of the burden of guilt and will be treated as if we were not sinners.
Herein is the meaning of forgiveness—to act towards a person as if he had not sinned against us. In other words, we forgive a person when we act as patiently and kindly to him after he has hurt us as we did before. And note in verse 35 that this attitude must be “from your hearts” and not just on the surface.
But we say, some wounds are so deep never forget. Ah, look at the rest of the parable. The king had not forgotten the debt of his servant (verses 33, 34). He had forgiven (verse 27) but not forgotten. So the two are not synonymous. Thus even though we remember, we can and must forgive.
To illustrate: an acquaintance spreads untrue gossip about ourselves. Our natural reaction is to retaliate by speaking evil of him. We forgive when we destroy our bitterness and speak kindly about the person just as we would have done had he not gossiped about us. If we do this “from the heart” tie have forgiven. However, we may remember what that person has done making certain we do not rely on what he tells us about others. Thus we forgive though we may not forget.
One further verse should be noted. Forgiveness is not to be extended only upon the apology of the offender. Such was the case in the parable (verse 29), only to dramatize the hard heart of the unmerciful servant. “Whenever you stand praying, forgive if you have anything against any one; so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses” (Mark 11:25 RSV).
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One