Good morning Lord Jesus, Help me be present and rest in your love.
“So pray this way:
Our Father in heaven, may your name be honored,
may your kingdom come,
may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts, as we ourselves have forgiven our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
“For if you forgive others their sins, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, your Father will not forgive you your sins.” (Matthew 6:9-13)
Jesus came for the forgiveness of sins. My sins, your sins, the removal of shame and the restoration of life. In a familiar story in the Gospels, Jesus forgives the sins of a paralytic man:
“And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”” (Mark 2:4-5)
When Jesus forgives someone’s sins, like those of the paralytic man, he does not just forgive the sins the paralytic man committed against Himself, but the also the sins the man committed against others. He forgives all sins. The paralytic man may have wronged another person in that house with him and Jesus. He may have lied to them, cheated them, or hurt them in some other sinful act. And that person the man did a sinful act may still be hurt, mad at him, and refusing to forgive him, but when Jesus forgave the paralytic man, he forgave him for the sins he committed against others. When Jesus forgives the sins of your neighbors, he forgives the not only the sins the committed before God, but also the sins they committed against you.
We wrestle with and think it is hard to forgive others who hurt us or our family. Think about standing in for and forgiving a person for hurting another person. That is what Jesus does. When we say the Lord’s prayer we claim, “may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
Jesus forgives a person with a penitent heart that ask for forgiveness. Forgiveness is God’s will, so that forgiveness is completed in heaven. Jesus then looks at us and asks us to act on what we preach and pray, to forgive as well and to do on earth as He did in heaven. One of the greatest Christ like abilities and characteristics that is given to Christians, is the ability to forgive.
My family, I pray over you the words you pray many times over yourself, “Jesus, may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” I pray you do on earth what has already been done in heaven, and forgive those who have sinned against you, in Jesus name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
I would love for you to please share your reflections with myself or others using the comment box below.