Forgiving Others

Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.
1 Timothy 4:15-16

Christ forgave us by taking the consequences for our sins on Himself. When we forgive another person, we’re agreeing to live with the consequences of that person’s sin. But that’s not fair! Of course it’s not, but you will have to live with them anyway. Everyone is living with the consequence of somebody else’s sin. The whole world is living with the consequences of Adam’s sin. The only real choice is to do live in those consequences in the bondage of bitterness or in the freedom of forgiveness.

There has been enough pain; choose forgiveness. It's the most Christlike thing we can do.

We don't forgive others for their sake; we do it for the sake or our own freedom and our relationship with our heavenly Father. It's primarily an issue between ourselves and God, and we can forgive anytime—like right now! To forgive from the heart, we have to let God into our emotional core. Ask Him to reveal whom you need to forgive. As names come to mind, say, "Lord, I forge [name] for [specifically mention every hurtful thing that comes to mind and how it made you feel]."

This devotional is an excerpt taken from The Bondage Breaker Devotional by Neil T. Anderson.

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Neil T. Anderson is the founder of Freedom in Christ Ministries. He began the ministry in 1989 and continues to spread the message of freedom to this day.