Week 1, day 4: What do we forgive?

“And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” (NIV)

“Forgive us the wrongs we have done, as we forgive the wrongs that others have done to us.” (Good News)

Bern Leckie writes:

Have you ever tried explaining “sin” to someone who isn’t churchy? It’s not too hard to explain in terms of breaking God’s rules, but it’s very hard to convince someone who isn’t sure they believe in God that this matters.

Thankfully, when we picked up two Bible versions of the prayer Helen and I had learned as “forgive us our sins”, the word sin had already been replaced with “debts” or “wrongs”. Now these words feel much more meaningful for conversations with our friends and colleagues. I have been in debt to some of them, and some are to me. We feel the importance of this, how easy it is to hold on to the sense of what we are owed, and how hard it is to forgive.

6-year-old Noah hasn’t suffered with debt but does recognise what it is to do wrong, or to be wronged by someone else. This was an easy conversation to get a quick nod of agreement that this is a thing, but I know from all of our past tears and deep feelings how hard it is to try mining the sources of hurt where there is unforgiveness. It’s a weight which is harder to carry than any other debt.

So, when we approach God to be honest about where we need forgiveness, I think it’s amazing that Jesus ties this to an expectation that we can and will be forgivers too.

I think it’s easy to read “forgive us… as we forgive” as a limit on God’s willingness to forgive, like a trickle of blessing he will hold back until we mend our own ways. But when I prayed about this, I had more of a picture of blessing and forgiveness rushing like unstoppable water from God, the source of more love and blessing than we can handle or contain within ourselves. When we are truly open to it, open with God and willing to be open to others, that forgiveness blows our valves open. It changes us into people who can’t hold onto resentment.

Are we there yet? I’m really encouraged that it felt hard to identify unforgiveness, because I think God has been flooding us with forgiveness and helping us walk through forgiving each other on a regular basis.

I’m praying for this to continue, and especially that Noah’s young and optimistic views on love and forgiveness will mature and grow to be a recognisable force among his friends: truly strong, Christ-like and reliant on God’s power. It’s one of the ways we can hope to see God’s kingdom come where we are.