Are you ready for some Jewish guilt? 

First, were you so worthy of forgiveness that Yeshua, the very Son of G-d should have allowed Himself to be nailed to a tree in order to bring about your forgiveness? His own holy blood was required of Him as a sacrifice to wash clean your sins so G-d would forgive you. Or of course He could have said there’s NO WAY I’m going to be nailed to a tree for (insert your name here). So, are you worthy of forgiveness?  He not only allowed Himself to be publicly humiliated for you and accepted incredible pain and death that you deserved, but the true testimony of Yeshua’s love for you is that it was love that kept Him nailed to that tree. We need to learn from that love.

Second, read Yeshua’s own explanation if the first reason isn’t good enough for you.

Matthew 18:21-35 Then Peter came to him and asked, "Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?" "No!" Yeshua replied, "seventy times seven! "For this reason, the Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a king who decided to bring his accounts u p t o date with servants who had borrowed money from him. In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions of dollars. He couldn't pay, so the king ordered that he, his wife, his children, and everything he had be sold to pay the debt. But the man fell down before the king and begged him, 'Oh, sir, be patient with me, and I will pay it all.' Then the king was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt. "But when the man left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars. He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment. His fellow servant fell down before him and begged for a little more time. 'Be patient and I will pay it,' he pleaded. But his creditor wouldn't wait. He had the man arrested and jailed until the debt could be paid in full.  "When some of the other servants saw this, they were very upset. They went to the king and told him what had happened. Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, 'You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. Shouldn't you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?' Then the angry king sent the man to prison until he had paid every penny. "That's what My heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters in your heart."

Colossians 3:13 You must make allowance for each other's faults and forgive the person who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.

G-d has a big eraser, ask Him to help you with it!

Speaking about offense, this opens up another very important area of growth we need to learn about.

Offense – defined in the dictionary - act of causing anger, resentment, displeasure – any violation or infraction of a moral or social code – a transgression or sin – the act of attacking or assaulting.

When we are offended we experience what kinds of feelings?

Shock, hurt, disbelief, surprise, anger, frustration, confusion, pain, vengefulness…

If we ingest these feelings and feed on them, we will become offended. If we become offended and start to react in the ways of the world we will be bearing fruit for satan. Why not act like a duck more often and let things that could offend you just roll off your back? Can you say quack, quack?

What are the fruits of offense if we choose to accept the offense and respond in defiance to G-d’s ways?

Hurt, Anger, Outrage, Jealousy, Envy, Resentment, Strife, Bitterness, Hatred

We must always remember G-d refines us by fire with afflictions, trials, and tribulations, which allows the impurities such as unforgiveness, anger, envy, jealousy (all of the above) to be burned off, and the attributes of G-d (purity and holiness) to grow in our lives. Believers are like tea bags, not much good until we’ve gone through some hot water.

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