"Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others”. Colossians 3:13 (NLT)
The cycle of forgiveness begins with God, who forgives absolutely. It is God’s desire that all mankind experience His matchless compassion in response to our flaws, failures, and waywardness. The forgiveness that makes a way for new beginnings by washing away the past, thus removing the penalty associated with our wrongdoings. A way to express gratitude for receiving such a precious gift is to pay it forward. Since we have been forgiven, we must take on God’s nature of forgiveness toward others. The cycle of forgiveness continues when we choose to forgive those who have offended us freely. In Colossians 3:13, we find the standard by which we should forgive; it’s the manner in which God forgave us. God does not continually bring up the past, and He gives us grace to manage the missteps we have not yet to free ourselves from, or at least to manage them through the aid of God’s Holy Spirit.
“If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.”
Matthew 6:14-15
The depth of forgiveness we can expect from God is based on our willingness to forgive others. When we are gracious and quick to overlook the trespasses others commit against us, God, in turn, does the same for us. I’ll venture to say that God goes above and beyond to forgive us for our sins, considering how we choose to forgive those who have offended us. On the one hand, when we choose to be hard-hearted and relish the wrongs inflicted by others upon us, God does not forgive our wrongdoings, as stated in Matthew 6:15. Understanding the magnitude of God’s forgiveness prompts us to forgive no matter the wrong. By contrast, the failure to understand sets the stage for not forgiving. Forgiving others is not an option if we want to experience the continuous flow of God’s compassion and grace.
“When we choose to forgive others, it’s a choice to be positioned to receive God’s forgiveness.”_ASA
Chronicles of ASA 