Getting Started
Introduction — Father, Forgive Them
Jesus was hanging on the cross. He had been betrayed, falsely accused, mocked, beaten, rejected, and crucified. The soldiers had driven nails through His hands and feet. Religious leaders ridiculed Him. People stood watching His suffering and in the middle of it all, Jesus spoke these words: “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” — Luke 23:34 Jesus chose forgiveness while the offense was still happening. He did not wait for an apology. He did not wait for those who hurt Him to understand what they had done and He did not wait until the pain was over.
He forgave. Forgiveness was not simply something Jesus taught. It was something He lived and He calls us to live that way too.
A Life of Forgiveness
Forgiveness is not meant to be something we practice only after a major betrayal. It is meant to become part of the way we walk with Jesus.
There will always be opportunities to become offended because people will disappoint us. Someone will misunderstand us. Someone may speak carelessly and may even reject us. Sometimes the wounds will be much deeper.
If we collect every offense, eventually our hearts become heavy with things God never intended us to carry and that is why we learn to forgive quickly.
We recognize offense when it enters. We refuse to continually rehearse what someone has done. We do not allow resentment to settle into our hearts and grow into bitterness, instead, we bring the hurt to Jesus.
We forgive, we release, we entrust and we continue walking with Him.
Forgiveness Is Not Pretending
Living a life of forgiveness does not mean pretending something wrong was right. It does not mean remaining in an abusive or unsafe situation. It does not eliminate the need for healthy boundaries and forgiveness does not always mean reconciliation. Reconciliation requires the participation of both people. Forgiveness can take place in your own heart before God regardless of what another person chooses to do. Forgiveness says: What happened was real, but I refuse to remain bound to it. The offense does not determine the condition of my heart.
Into Your Hands
Near the end of His time on the cross, Jesus spoke again: “Father, I entrust my spirit into your hands!” — Luke 23:46 There is a beautiful picture here that will guide us throughout this journey.
Forgive. Release. Entrust.
Jesus forgave those who wounded Him, and He entrusted Himself to His Father. There are things we cannot fix and people we cannot change. There are apologies we may never receive and questions that may never be answered. There are injustices we cannot make right ourselves but we can place them into the hands of God. Over these seven days, we are going to learn how to recognize offense before it takes root, confront unforgiveness and bitterness, release the debts we have been trying to collect, receive God’s forgiveness for our own failures, and surrender what happened into the hands of the Father. The goal is not simply to forgive one person. The goal is to become someone who walks in forgiveness. This journey is not about pretending you were never hurt. It is about discovering that you do not have to remain imprisoned by the hurt. Jesus has shown us the way. Forgive. Release. Entrust it to the Father and walk free.