“And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” Matthew 6:12
I do not know about you, but this is one of the parts of the prayer that I probably do the most of. Literally in the Greek it says, “And forgive us the debts of us as also we forgive the debtors of us.” This sounds kind of like Yoda to me, but I am perhaps a little bit crazy. The word translated as forgive is aphiemi which means to send away, release (discharge). God wants to discharge us from our debt. The word for debt is opheilema which means the result of having a debt, focusing on the after-effect of the obligation. God wants to forgive us of our debt. How great a debt I owe! Like it says in the hymn Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing:
“Oh, to grace how great a debtor daily I’m constrained to be let that goodness like a fetter bind my wandering heart to thee”
It says in Psalm 103: “as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.” What a blessing God has bestowed on us. He wants to forgive us, but we need to acknowledge our sin and turn away from it. This is required of us. We need to humble ourselves and to repent or turn away from it. The only way that we can be forgiven is to confess our sins to Him. It says in 1 John 1:9 that “if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” Not only will he forgive us, but He will cleanse us from all unrighteousness. He puts us back in right standing with Him. He no longer counts it against us. It also says, however, that if we think that we have no sin that we are only deceiving ourselves. For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God as it says in Romans 3:23
In addition, in order for us to be forgiven, we need to also forgive others. It says in Matthew 6:14-15: “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” It says in 1 Peter 4:8 that love covers over a multitude of sins. If we genuinely love one another we will forgive our brothers and sisters for wrongs that have been done against us. This is part of being in a family. We live in an imperfect world unfortunately, but we can make it a better place by not holding things against each other. Yes, maybe we have been wronged, but we also have done wrong. Life is a two-way street. We can hold things against each other and widen the gap between us, or we can pray for forgiveness and in turn forgive others.
The world is full of many people who remain bitter and full of anger and resentment because of wrongs or even perceived wrongs and they carry it around like a heavy weight. On a lighter note—no pun intended—I am reminded of a story about my brother. He was really angry at my Mother for something that I am sure was unforgivable and so he wrote her a letter that basically said:
“I hate you!
Hate,
Mike”
This is funny now, but at the time it was a very real emotion. The thing about unforgiveness is that if we hold on to it, we are depriving ourselves of growing emotionally. We can stay in that place and never go beyond this selfish emotion. God wants us to forgive so that we can be forgiven. When we forgive someone, we help them to grow too towards love and to becoming a better person. It is kindness that draws us to repentance. We are brought to a place where we are able to see beyond our needs and to consider others above ourselves. It is not easy, but we can do this by prayer and supplication. In the words of a song by Casting Crowns called East to West:
“Jesus, can you show me just how far the east is from the west? 'Cause I can't bear to see the man I've been Rising up in me again In the arms of your mercy I find rest You know just how far the east is from the west From one scarred hand to the other”
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