Forgive
If we look at the most famous prayer that has ever been written, that’s right – it was the prayer that The Lord Jesus Christ taught you and me to pray, “Our Father in heaven.”
If we go to Matthew Chapter 6 and verse 12, this is what the prayer says:
“And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors”.
Not such an easy thing to do, especially with the lockdown and the fact that we are living in very close proximity with our loved ones.
I know that my two oldest grandchildren, two girls, they cannot go back to university this year. They are in lockdown.
Mom and dad are very happy but they are missing their friends.
We need to walk in forgiveness.
I remember very clearly, as a brand-new Christian, I gave my life to The Lord with my wife and my family in a little church in the main street of our local town, Greytown.
And I was so excited to become a Christian.
I wanted to work with young people and we organized a youth camp at a retreat center just outside town.
Well, we had an amazing weekend.
A lot of children gave their lives to Christ and I was so excited.
I met with my minister who became a very close friend of mine and I was so excited to tell him the good news.
And he said to me, “But Angus, there is just one thing I want to correct. You know the boys and the girls got a bit wild, and one of the children rolled a big tire up against a plastic sewerage pipe and broke it, and somebody threw a tennis ball through a window and broke a mirror.
We need to be a bit more careful”.
Well, I want to be honest with you. The old man rose up and I was so angry actually.
I said, “Listen, I tell you what – send me the account and I will settle it immediately.”
I was really upset, I said, “I don’t care if the whole place burnt down, as long as one of those little boys or girls gave their lives to The Lord.”
And he actually put me in my place. He said, “Ja, I understand what you are saying but we really need to understand the property of the church.”
Anyway, we didn’t talk to each other for quite a while after that and a few months later, we had a day of fasting and prayer in the church.
And I went into town to get spares and I walked into that church by myself, in my overalls, and I went up to the altar rails to pray.
And as I was about to get down on my knees, you know you feel that somebody watching you. I looked to the right-hand side and there was the minister, sitting and reading his Bible in a chair, right in the corner in the front of the church.
And I stood up and I realized I could not pray because I had not really forgiven him and made right. And he stood up at the same time, and we walked over to each other and embraced one another and we wept, and we shed a few tears. And I said, “I am so sorry.” And he said, “I am so sorry” and I want to tell you we had the most amazing prayer meeting together after that and became fast friends, right until the end of his life, and I had the privilege of conducting his funeral when he went home to be with The Lord.
We must forgive our debtors, not only for their sakes but for our sakes.