Matthew 6:14-15 For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

Forgiveness is easy to say but hard to do. It is in our sinful nature to hold a grudge against someone who has done you wrong or to want revenge for something that has been done to you, your family, or your friends. Sometimes we feel like if we forgive someone, we are letting them off the hook for what they have done to us.

But that is not true. Holding onto the anger, shame and feelings of revenge are not hurting the person that hurt you. They are weighing you down. They are stealing your joy. If you hang on tightly to those feelings, you are not releasing them to God to handle. If your hand is tightly closed in a fist around bitterness, how will you be able to reach out and take ahold of the peace God offers? Ephesians 4:31-32 says, “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, just as in Christ God forgave you.”

The fact of the matter is that you are a sinner too. Our perfect God sent his son, Jesus, to die on the cross so that our sins could be forgiven. If God can forgive us for all our sins, you can forgive one person for their sins. It is easy to ask God for forgiveness, but difficult to give it to others. I know this from firsthand experience. But if you pray about, like Jesus taught us in the Lord’s Prayer (forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us) then our heavenly Father that loves us will grant us forgiveness and help us to forgive.

Lord, thank you for dying on the cross so that our sins are forgiven. Please help us to grant forgiveness to those that have sinned against us. Amen.