If you read the words of this verse quickly without looking at the context, then you might attribute them incorrectly. These words are very similar to the words that Jesus spoke on the cross, but this time they are not spoken by Jesus. In Acts 7:60 we read,
“He knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” And after saying this, he died.”
These words were spoken by Stephen, known as the first Christian martyr (a martyr is a person who is killed because of their religious or other beliefs). After he shared about Jesus and how the Old Testament teachings foretold of Him, the people were enraged, took him out of the city and stoned him.
Following Jesus is not easy. People will be against us as they were with Stephen, maybe not to the point of killing us, but they will do things to oppose us.
As we begin to think about the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, one may wonder why we should focus on forgiving others. In Matthew 6:15 we see Jesus saying,
“But if you don’t forgive others, your Father will not forgive your offenses.”
That is pretty serious. Even as Stephen was being brutally killed by others, he took time to forgive them. He could do this because he knew Jesus was real, and he knew he was going to heaven.
In today’s culture, it seems to be the norm to be offended by the words of another instead of finding the root cause, or addressing the issue. We may seldom experience others apologizing for their wrongs, or they may apologize in order to solicit an apology from another.
If we love God, if we have repented of our sinful ways (turned to follow God), then the love of God should be in us and we should be able to forgive others, even when most people say they don’t deserve it, or they have not asked for forgiveness.
May we have the spirit of forgiveness, to forgive others, and to seek forgiveness for ourselves.
Discussion Question:
- Tell about a time you forgave someone who maybe “didn’t deserve” to be forgiven.
- Why is it important to forgive other people? because God forgave us and because of God’s love, and forgiveness, for us, we should desire to forgive others
- When your parents tell you to “say you are sorry” to someone, do you really mean it?
- When someone tells you that they are sorry for something that they did, is it easy, or difficult, to accept their apology and forgive them?
End in prayer thanking God for His forgiveness, and asking God to give you a spirit of forgiveness.
There may be things in your life that are difficult to discuss, or people in your life that are difficult to forgive. It can be difficult to forgive others for things they may have done, that is not taken lightly. Seek God for peace and the ability to forgive. Seek counseling if needed. God wants us to live in freedom. Holding on to things can keep us in bondage.
