“And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.”-Matthew 6:12
(KJV)
The fifth petition of the Lord’s
prayer holds a very deep meaning and one we may not consider as important as it
really is. The English Standard Version
renders the translation from the Greek in this way: “Forgive
us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors.” When we pray for God to forgive us our debts (our
trespasses, sins), we come with this plea with an action on our part already
completed: We have already forgiven
those who have trespassed and sinned, against us and are indebted to us. “Even as also we forgive our debtors, Lord, forgive
us our debts against You.”
We must remember that the Lord's
Prayer is, the "Disciples Prayer." It is Jesus teaching those who
believe in Him how to pray. Initially
when we trusted Jesus for salvation we repented of our sins and received His
forgiveness. That is a past accomplishment
for the Christian. This petition in the
disciples' prayer, which has to do with our conduct of life, our recognition
that we often fall short of God’s expectations for us, that we fail and need forgiveness and restoration.
As we pray for restoration of fellowship
with God, imploring that our debts and shortcomings be forgiven, we, likewise,
are to forgive those who have wronged us in any way. No one who has not forgiven those who wronged
him cannot sincerely pray the Lord's Prayer.
To forgive one's enemies is the way of the Christian and is an opposite
action to that of the world. This
process of forgiveness is so important that the Lord included it in the prayer
He taught His disciples.
I read a touching true story of a
Christian policeman who was given the unpleasant task of going to a home where
children were known to be neglected and abused by their mother. His task was to take the children from their mother
and deliver them to the Department of Family and Childrens’ Services, who in
turn would place the two children in a foster home. The oldest of the two children was a little
girl seven; the youngest was a baby of eight months. To make conversation with the little girl,
the policeman asked her if she would like to tell him a story she remembered
from school. She immediately told him
her favorite—learned in Sunday School—about the wise king and two mothers who
came to him, each claiming to be the mother of the baby. The king’s decision was to cut the baby in
two and thus give each mother a part of the baby. The real mother couldn’t bear to see her
child die, so she gave it up in order to see it live. (I Kings 3) The policeman, touched that a seven-year-old
would like such a sad story, asked the little girl why she liked it. Her reply was that the story reminded her of
her own mother who sometimes did the most loving thing of all: to give up her own children for a while for
their own good. What a touching and
tender way this young child had of dealing with an unpleasant situation in her
life. Likewise, forgiveness of our fellowmen helps us to heal and at the same
time receive God’s forgiveness. This is
the essence of this fifth petition of the Lord’s Prayer. In Hebrews 12:15 we read: “See to it that no one fails to obtain the
grace of God; that no root of bitterness springs up and causes trouble, and by
it many become defiled” If we bear
bitterness and unforgiveness in our own hearts towards others, we miss the joy
of experiencing the grace of God—His unmerited favor to us.
Think now of anyone you consider
to have wronged you. Are you willing to
sincerely forgive that person? If we can
forgive others, then we can truly and sincerely pray “And forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors.”
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