Example of Forgiveness in the Bible [Day 5]
There are countless examples in the Bible where either God Himself forgave the faults of His people or people forgave each other. Let’s take the story of the prodigal son. We all know how this son took his portion of his father’s inheritance and left the house to enjoy a lifestyle that was not befitting of him. When the son decided to come back home, the father didn’t wait for his son to come and apologize before forgiving him and taking him back. But rather, as his son was coming from afar, the father ran to him and met him. Luke 15: 11-32
This shows that, the father had already forgiven his son, even before the son approached him. We can learn so many lessons from this prodigal son and his father. First of all, we don’t have to wait for our offenders to apologize to us before we forgive them. We have to make that conscious decision on our own. Secondly, when our offenders come to us to ask for forgiveness, we don’t have to harden our hearts, but accept their apology and have our sister or brother back. Remember, as we forgive others, that’s when our Father in Heaven also forgives us. Thirdly we can see that, when the son came back, the father even received him with the best of his things. He didn’t say because of what he did, he was no longer his son but instead, he brought him even closer. As Christians, we sometimes find ourselves withdrawing from the people who have hurt us in the past, with an excuse of being careful. As we are being “careful”, we have to make sure the enemy does not interfere and cause separation for good. As we go through the Bible, we can see many more examples of forgivenesss. God forgiving David for taking Uriah’s wife, Esau forgiving his brother Jacob for stealing his blessings and many more. We need to learn from these people, and become better at forgiving each other as Christians. Prayer Father Lord, help me to be like the father of the prodigal son, so that I can forgive easily in Jesus’s name. Amen!