Lavish Grace
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace Ephesians 1:7
‘Peter asked, “How many times should I forgive someone who does…wrong to me? Is seven times enough?” Jesus answered: “Not…seven…but seventy-seven times!”’ (Matthew 18:21-22). But we shouldn’t stop there. If God gave each of us only seventy-seven ‘forgiveness passes’, we’d be in trouble! You can’t bankrupt your ‘forgiveness account’ with God. But when you refuse to forgive others, you’re overlooking the fact that ‘You might be needing forgiveness before the day’s out’ (Galatians 6:1). Jesus said, ‘Forgive—only then will your heavenly Father…wipe your slate clean’ (Mark11:25). Whether it’s seven, seventy-seven, or seven thousand times, you always reap what you sow (Galatians 6:7). We’re all human, and when somebody hurts us we want justice. But God wants you to forgive the wrongdoer before he asks or shows any sign of remorse. Does that mean he will escape the consequences of his actions? No, it just means you’re not responsible for making it happen—God is. Harboring grudges is spiritually, emotionally and physically draining; forgiveness energizes and frees you to move on. Remember, you’ve been forgiven ‘in accordance with the riches of…grace…He lavished on us.’ But it comes with the requirement that you forgive others! When you think about the debt God forgave you, anything anyone could ever do to you pales by comparison, right? ‘His love has no limits, His grace has no measure, His power no boundary known unto men; For out of His infinite riches in Jesus, He giveth and giveth and giveth again’ (Annie Johnson Flint, 1866-1932). Now that’s lavish grace!
Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank You for the grace You lavish on me each day. Help me to forgive others with the same grace You give me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen
And trust me on this one, forgiving can be a huge challenge, Forgiving can drain you of a lot. But I think the “space” in us that remains,,, that’s the place in our hearts where the Holy Spirit takes up residence. We do have to forgive And we do benefit by forgiving others, both in this world and the next
As I read Galatians 6:7, Do not be deceived. God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. . I think verse 8 provides important context “The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit from the Spirit will reap eternal life. What it does not truly say is that you ” always reap what you sow.” What you reap and what you sow in this world are not necessarily connected at all. Infants who die of massive internal injury due to being sodomized by an adult are not reaping what they sowed. In parts India where there are no sewers so people urinate and defecate in the fields ,In those situation women, sometimes are raped when they step out into the field to defecate. Such women are not reaping what they sowed. As I read Galations 6:7 et seq , the connection between sowing and reaping applies in terms sowing in this life and reaping in the next