“Consider mine affliction, and deliver me: For I do not forget thy law. Plead my cause, and deliver me: Quicken me according to thy word. Salvation is far from the wicked: For they seek not thy statutes. Great are thy tender mercies, O LORD: Quicken me according to thy judgments. Many are my persecutors and mine enemies; Yet do I not decline from thy testimonies. I beheld the transgressors, and was grieved; Because they kept not thy word. Consider how I love thy precepts: Quicken me, O LORD, according to thy lovingkindness. Thy word is true from the beginning: And every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever.”
Psalm 119:153-160 KJV,https://bible.com/bible/1/psa.119.153-160.KJV
Forgiveness Matters
One of the most profound Biblical examples of forgiveness is found in a story Jesus told about a king who wanted to settle his debts. One man owed the king a lot of money that he couldn’t repay, but the king had mercy on him and forgave the debt.
Afterward, the forgiven man encountered someone who owed him a small debt. But instead of showing mercy and forgiveness, he sends the man to prison until the debt is repaid. When the king hears about this, he is outraged at the hypocrisy, and has the forgiven man arrested.
If we’re being honest with ourselves, we probably fit into this story somewhere. How often have we chosen not to forgive someone while happily receiving the forgiveness that God offers us?
We’ve all made mistakes. We’ve all rebelled against God. And all wrongdoing is contrary to God’s ways. Some sins have bigger consequences—but every mistake causes us to fall short of God’s perfection.
Forgiveness doesn’t necessarily erase the hurt caused, ...