360 Forgiveness

When Jesus gave thee model prayer to his disciples, it included "And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors" (Matt 6:12).  After the conclusion of the prayer,  he added, "For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins" (vv. 14-15).

What becomes clear is that forgiveness of others is an extremely important component in communication between man and God - that God's willingness to hear our pleas is mirrored with our willingness to hear the pleas of others. 

What is not always so clear is the direct connection of our unwillingness to forgive and Satan's hold on our lives. In-between verses 12 and 14, lies verse 13, which is normally seen as a separate item: "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one."

However, did you notice the "For" in verse 14?  Let me connect a few dots for you. "....forgive us...as we have forgiven...deliver us from the evil one...For if you forgive...your Heavenly Father will forgive..."

God's forgiveness is 360 degrees, Satan tempts us to rely on 180 degrees of forgiveness. The evil one wants us to expect God's unconditional forgiveness of all our sins while we conditionally forgive only some sins. God's forgiveness goes full circle as it produces a gratitude of grace. Satan's pseudo forgiveness only goes one way - it is, like he is, self-centered and selfish. 

He tempts us to expect forgiveness while not extending it to others, which can only happen when we don't really believe in or accept the premise of grace-filled forgiveness. How could we truly accept His forgiveness if we don't really believe in it?  Jus' Askn.