Sharing Forgiveness

Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven."

John 20:21-23

If someone close to us were to die and be resurrected before us, wouldn't we be very interested in what they had to say? The scripture above is one of the first things Jesus had to say to His beloved disciples; this meant something of great value. I also took notice of the “!” in the first line; He must’ve been so excited to see His disciples or really needed them to pay close attention. I’m sure some people there were really shaken and distraught so maybe He was comforting them with His peace.

The two important pieces of scripture here is how Jesus is sending us into the harvest and about forgiveness. The thing Jesus was focused on while in this world is what we need to do: spread the gospel and make disciples throughout the nations. God sent the Holy Spirit to show us how to do this; each of us uniquely chosen. But we won’t be able to do this without the second part, forgiveness.

I’m a little confused about”… if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” It almost supports the catholic view that people must come to a confessional and allow the priest to forgive them. Isn’t it enough to stand before God and ask for forgiveness? Yes, but how would they know that without understanding repentance? How would they know repentance without knowing God’s word? How will they know God’s word without a messenger filled with th4e Holy Spirit? How does the messenger get filled with the Holy Spirit? By asking for forgiveness and allowing God to mold his life. So forgiveness of sin is about God; God is the one sinned against and when we forgive others it doesn’t mean that we forgive but rather God is using us to d4eliver the message. We have that ability to block healing and restoration by restricting God’s Spirit from flowing through us onto another. We must be open, transparent vessels for God.

Heavenly Father, thank You for the people You’ve placed in my life to forgive me. I know that I have a hard time forgiving myself but You beautifully send Your angels and servants to comfort, encourage and guide me when I’m lost. I pray that I can be used to lay a hand on another child and share forgiveness. In the mighty name of Jesus I pray, Amen!