Food, forgiveness, and freedom

I read these familiar verses this morning and they came to life for me.

What do we really need in life?  According to the most famous prayer in the world, our Lord's Prayer, we need:

- daily bread
- to receive God's forgiveness and extend the same to others
- to be delivered from evil

There you have it: food, forgiveness, and freedom.

To be content with and ever grateful that we have food to eat every day.  Of course we take this for granted.  Others around the globe do not.

As Christians, we are forgiven people.  This is huge.  Do you know how many unbelievers are walking this earth with the weight of guilt, shame, and condemnation?  Another thing we take for granted - that we are forgiven in and through Christ.  

That need is twofold: yes, we are so gratefully and undeservedly forgiven.  But the second part of that is even bigger: we are to forgive others the same exact way that Christ forgives us.

How is that possible, you may wonder.  Well Jesus would never tell us to do something that is impossible, so it must be possible.  But how many actually practice this?  

The sad, very sad, truth is that most "Christians" I know seem to be perfectly fine living with unforgiveness in their hears.  Not that they are truly fine, because they are not.  They are hardening their hearts with each passing moment when they choose to stay unforgiving.

What they are fine with is that they don't seem to think or care that it matters.  They don't really take Jesus seriously when He tells us to forgive as we have been forgiven by Him.  How do I know this?  Because I've been on the end of others' unforgiveness towards me!  And oh how I feel for them.  

Even though it's hard to accept that they could be so cold, it's even harder for me to realize how far they are from the heart of God; how, though they call themselves Christians, their hearts are not full of Him at all. In thinking they can go blithely on with their lives living in this sin, they are among the most deceived of all.  They are asking for the Lord to not forgive them, unwittingly.  "Forgive us as we forgive others."  So this tells me that they do not really value, want, or think they need God's forgiveness.  Their actions expose them.

And lastly, Jesus wants us to be free - free from the bondage of evil, which is sin.  What a price He paid for us to live in freedom!

And I believe with all my heart that numbers 2 and 3 in this list are deeply intertwined.  If we forgive others freely, then we ourselves are free - free from the evil of grudges and vindictiveness.

How can God deliver us from evil if we choose to stay in it?!  Staying in the dark realm of unforgiveness is a self-induced prison.  Why would anyone choose this supposed "right" when they instead could be free?!  Free to love, free to forgive, free to live as Christ lived.

I hope that if you ever pray the Lord's Prayer again that these thoughts will stick with you.  I pray that you would both receive God's awesome gift of forgiveness as well as extend forgiveness to others.  

Oh Lord.  Food, forgiveness, and freedom.  These are but three of the many blessings that you give us.  I pray that we would always be grateful for our daily food, that we would quickly forgive others, as you do us, and that we would walk in Your blessed freedom and delieverance from evil daily.  In Jesus' Name.  Amen.