The Madness of Unforgiveness: Forgive as You Want to be Forgiven

by David Chadwick

Forgive yourself. Release God of anything you have wrongly blamed him for doing. And forgive others.

Instead of just forgiving others by letting them off the hook of your wrath and anger. What if you actually forgive others the way you would want to be forgiven. After all, the Bible says to treat others the way you would want to be treated (Matthew 7:12).

This is an absolute key for forgiveness to have its full impact in your life. Read and reread Matthew 5:7, “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.”

Now start with asking the question, “How do I want God to forgive me in all the ways that I have hurt his heart?” Really answer that honestly.

Here are some of the ways that I know I want God’s forgiveness. I want complete and total forgiveness. I want to be assured that I won’t be haunted by the memories of the pain of what has happened to me. I don’t want my own sin to be remembered. I don’t want my own sin to be broadcasted to the world. I don’t want my sins to harm me in the future.

Ok, now you try. Keep making a list for yourself. Maybe you want to be received with a hug instead of a punishment. Maybe you desire to experience joy and laughter after doing something you know was terribly wrong. Maybe you want the entire mess forgotten in order to move on in life.

Now, think of the person you need to forgive. You don’t want them unduly punished, right? Do you want their sins forever remembered by God? Do you want to see all of the wrong they have done to you made public? Do you desire to see them spend eternity separated from Jesus’s eternal love? Or be repaid for their sins here and forever?

If you truly are a follower of Jesus, I don’t think you could desire any of these things.

So, pause for a moment and release them. Forgive them as you want to be forgiven. And then watch as Jesus sets you free.