“Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors.” (Matthew 6:12)
Besides daily necessities, we humans constantly need God’s forgiveness. No matter how hard we try, time and again we fail to live according to God’s standards because our heart is sinful and we lack strength to resist temptations. Because of this, we are in debt with God and we can’t solve this problem ourselves. Over time we only make things worse.
But in His boundless love, Jesus came to pay the debt for us. By His sacrifice at the cross our sins can be canceled, erased. In this way we can be set free and escape eternal punishment. Moreover, the Holy Spirit transforms and renews our hearts, so that our sinful desires are gradually replaced by the desire to love and please the Lord God.
If we live by God’s forgiveness, He also expects us to be willing to forgive people who have wronged us. That’s not easy, but it’s necessary. Jesus even states this as a prerequisite for being forgiven ourselves. We cannot ask God to forgive us while being unforgiving towards others.
This prayer repeatedly reminds us of our sin, but also of God’s grace. It is this awareness that makes us both humble and grateful at the same time..
Do you long for forgiveness? And do you trust that God is willing to forgive you?