The Bible Edge
Thank You Lord
Ephesians 4:32
And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.
Thank God for forgiveness.
First of all, “Thank you, Lord, for forgiving my sin.” Every single individual that has accepted Christ as their personal Savior can and should say this often. Not only did the Lord forgive all past sins prior to receiving Him, He forgives all future sin for: If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (I John 1:9)
Consider this, if a person is saved at 20 years old and lives to 80 years old, that is 21,900 days. If they sin only one time per day over those 6o years that is 21,900 sins that the Lord God can and will forgive. That is a lot of forgiveness. Yes, sins like those found in Romans 14:23 … for whatsoever is not of faith is sin, or James 4:17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin, and many other like verses. There may be perfect folks out there, but I’m not one. Every day I have to do that which the Lord taught us to do, ask for forgiveness from sins committed that day.
There are two more caveats of forgiveness for which all can be thankful or should be. One is the ability to forgive others. After all, the only way to truly forgive another’s wrongdoing toward us is to have the divine power to do so. Many pastors have taught throughout the church age for the past 2,000 plus years that God commands us to forgive others. In today’s verse above we are told to forgive others even as He has forgiven us. Remember those 21,900 sins? Consider a married couple. Forgiving each other every day is one key to being married for 60 years or more. Same with friends, family, pastors, and church members. Forgiveness, true Bible based forgiveness through the power of Almighty God’s Spirit is how those relationships last year upon year upon year and years to come.
Another aspect of forgiveness is being forgiven, not only by God but by others. Thank you, Lord, for giving others the power, grace and sometimes mercy to forgive. For without this divine ability what would we do?
Forgiveness from God, the ability to forgive, and receiving forgiveness from others are three wonderful reasons to thank God for forgiveness. It’s a tremendous grace that is vital to everlasting life and our temporal relationships with each other. Sometimes it is vital for our personal wellbeing to be able to forgive ourselves. But that dear reader will have to be a topic we visit on another day.
William T. Howe, Ph.D.
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