Scripture Reading: Matthew 18:21-35

Certain moments in life are so profound that they have the power to actually define a person’s identity. A graduation, a wedding day, the birth of a child, or even the loss of a loved one can be examples of the kinds of moments where a person’s perspective or sense of purpose in life completely shifts. While you and I might not experience too many of these moments in our lives, we can be sure they exist when we not only remember the moments themselves, but we also see how our lives changed since that moment.

Every Christian has to realize that we all share a similar moment that defines who we are and how we should live. It’s the moment that we placed our faith in Jesus, because that’s the same moment God declared this same word over every single one of us: “forgiven.” That’s who we are—we are those who have been forgiven. Because of Jesus’s ultimate sacrifice at the cross, those of us who belong to Jesus can be assured that God has forgiven us of every past, present, and future sin we’ve committed and will commit against him. We can actually know that the God of the universe doesn’t treat us according to our sins, but according to Jesus’s perfect righteousness. Experiencing a moment of profound forgiveness like this can’t leave a person unchanged—there must be evidence of change and a new identity.

Perhaps the greatest evidence that can be seen is in our quickness to forgive those who have hurt us. When we consider our many sins against God (even our many ongoing sins), and his unrelenting heart of forgiveness towards us, how can we not be moved to at least try and forgive those who hurt us? It’s not easy, but in light of how much we’ve been forgiven, it’s necessary to do so. Spend time considering any bitterness or resentment you hold towards others, and ask that God would teach you to forgive just as you’ve been forgiven.