Connecting The Dots

One of our biggest mistakes in Bible study is in taking things out of context or failing to connect the dots. We so often read a statement af if it stood alone or was sent in a post card instead of a book or letter as it is actually written. 

Some dots you may never have connected are in The Lord's Prayer where we read "forgive us of our sins as we forgive those who sin against us" (Matt 6:12) and "lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil" (v. 13) as if they were two totally separate requests. 

However, in verse 14, there is a "for," which connects the two: Forgive us and lead us not... "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).

Do you see the connection?  The temptation we are asking to avoid, which is a trap of the Evil One, is to not forgive. Satan's great trap, so great that it is singled out in the Lord's Prayer, is the refusal to forgive. 

The unforgiving state is also an unforgiven state. Satan tempts us to embrace his world where forgiveness is not an option while rejecting God's world where forgiveness is the object. 

I'm not suggesting forgiveness is easy - God had to send his only Son to die on a cross in order to forgive. It may cost you a great deal as well but it is the divine way and to do otherwise is the devil's way. 

Jus' Sayn.