“Inner healing is absolutely not possible apart from forgiveness.”
When we pray the Lord’s Prayer, we are asking for total forgiveness, so that we might be healed and extend that forgiveness to others.
When Dr. Mark Rutland was in a season of deep depression, he found comfort and strength in the Lord’s Prayer. One of the most powerful lines in the Lord’s Prayer is,
“Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.” Matthew 6:12
‘No trespassing‘ is a sign you typically see on a fence or a door to inform others that you’re not supposed to come in here. A pastor’s wife helped add new meaning to the word trespass for Mark.
“She and her husband went through a very bad time, painful time. They went to counseling, got through it, but it was private pain. Years later, the board at their church found out about it.”
The board members publicly revealed what the pastor and his wife had gone through and they were humiliated. In her grief and pain, the pastor’s wife went to God and poured out her heart.
“Those people trespassed on our private pain. They walked on us. These people ought not to be here. They shouldn’t be dealing with this! God told her, ‘Let me remind you. You went in where you weren’t supposed to go.’”
What would we pay God for one millisecond of sin?
“We are indebted to grace. And therefore we can release people who we think owe us some kind of emotional debt.”
Our journey to forgive others is directly connected to God’s choice to forgive us. We trespassed against God’s holy character, and He sent His Son to pay the price of our forgiveness. That freedom should not be taken lightly by us. Our move toward God means a move toward those who have hurt us as well.
“Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who come into our lives where they ought not to be.”
Key Scriptures: Psalm 23:3; Matthew 6:9-13
Featured Songs: The Table by Chris Tomlin; We Fall Down by Steven Curtis Chapman; The Lord’s Prayer by Selah
