Word of Encouragement (3/24/2021)

Today, we will consider the fifth petition: “...forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” (Matt. 6:12). This petition implies many things about our relationship with God. The first is that we have a relationship with God. If we did not have any relationship with Him, we would not owe any debt to Him.

But what kind of relationship do we have with God that we should have debts to be forgiven? This petition implies that we have certain obligations to God. This is so because God is our Creator: all that we are and all that we have are from Him. God made us and granted us many gifts so that we might glorify Him, just as a symphony “glorifies” its composer. We are God’s stewards, entrusted with many blessings from God—life, abilities, talents, and resources. There will come a day when everyone will have to give an account to God of all that he has done with what He entrusted to him.

But we don’t have to wait till Judgment Day to get a sense of how we are doing. This petition reminds us that we owe many debts to God—thus, the need to pray for God’s forgiveness. Can any of us deny that we are like the wicked servant in Jesus’ parable, who embezzled his master’s properties and incurred the master’s wrath? We are in deep trouble. So then, in many ways, this petition expresses the most fundamental need we have—God’s forgiveness of our debts. No matter how good we may have it now, everything will be taken away from us and we will be severely punished for all the debts we owe Him. Unless we are in total denial, the prospect of God’s judgment spoils whatever enjoyment we can have in this life.

But in this petition, Jesus teaches us to pray for the forgiveness of our debts, not sins (even though He makes it clear that our sins/trespasses are included, Matt. 6:14-15).  Jesus also attaches a condition of sorts: “forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” It is as though we must forgive others first before we can expect God to forgive us. Isn’t that contrary to the doctrine of grace?

These peculiar features seem to have been patterned after an Old Testament institution. There, the idea of forgiving others’ debts was associated with the sabbatical year (Deut. 15:1-2), particularly the year of jubilee (Lev. 25:9-10). At these times, the Jews were supposed to forgive the debts of their fellow Israelites. This, of course, was grounded in God’s work of delivering them from the slavery of Egypt and giving them their inheritance in the promised land. What is more, they were to forgive the debts of their countrymen on the Day of Atonement, which was an annual reminder of God’s forgiveness of their sins/debts.

This shows the inseparable connection between God’s forgiveness of our debts and our forgiveness of other’s debts. Most certainly, if we can, and ought to, forgiven our debtors, it is because God has forgiven our debts. But this petition reminds us that the connection works the other way around, too: if we do not forgive others, it shows that we have not been forgiven. We cannot accept God’s free forgiveness and refuse to forgive others: when we accepted God’s forgiveness, we gave up the right not to forgive.

Jesus Christ came as the Year of Jubilee. Let us show the power of Christ’s forgiveness by granting forgiveness to one another.