Infant Cries Caveat 1 Unforgiveness

Many years ago, I worked as a youth pastor and had the privilege to work alongside some fantastic volunteer workers. I eventually left that church for a different ministry opportunity, but kept in touch with one particular couple. Unfortunately, as their faith journey progressed, they eventually decided to abandon their initial commitment to God. They had decided that they were never really Christians, but they also said that they did not really understand how prayer worked. Further discussion surfaced comments about how they had cried out to God in heartfelt, consistent prayer, but had received nothing that they perceived as an answer. Our hearts were crushed as our relationship with this couple disintegrated. God does call us to cry out to Him with all our heart, and He does promise to answer and to provide for all our needs. However, a truth can never fully experienced and understood in isolation. There is always a greater context, and that context often includes exceptions to the rule. The English language is full of such examples: “‘I’ before ‘E,’ except after ‘C;’” the letters ‘ough’ make the sound ‘uff,’ except when they don’t (‘ought’); and on, and on. I have experienced three exceptions that create a disconnect with my heavenly Father: unforgiveness, pride, and worldliness. Today, I will touch upon the exception of unforgiveness. The scariest passage in the New Testament is about unforgiveness. The Parable of the Unforgiving Slave’ is found only in Matthew 18:23-35. In it a slave is forgiven of an enormous debt by a king. But, when that same slave refuses to forgive a fellow slave of a debt and the king learns of his actions, the king re-instates his debt and throws him into prison until he is able to pay the full amount. Jesus concludes the parable with this chilling statement: “My heavenly Father will also do to you what you have heard, if each one of you does not forgive his brother from your hearts” (v.35). Unforgiveness separates us from the forgiveness us our heavenly Father. This principle is also affirmed by Jesus when He teaches His disciples how to pray in Matthew 6:9-15. He instructs His disciples to pray daily, “And forgive us our debts, in the same way that we also have forgiven our debtors” (v.12). This is the only portion of the prayer that He highlights for His disciples, concluding with the stark truth that God will forgive us, if we have already forgiven others, but that He will not forgive us, if we have not already forgiven others (vv.14-15). Unforgiveness excludes us from the forgiveness of our heavenly Father. This is a timeless principle. Seven hundred years earlier, the prophet Isaiah cried out: “Behold! Yahweh’s hand is not too short to save, nor is His ear too dull to hear, but your iniquities have created a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear” (59:1-2). The sin of unforgiveness creates a disconnect between us and our heavenly Father and He will not listen to even the most ardent cries of our heart, if we have not already forgiven those who have sinned against us. Therefore, I believe that one of the fastest ways to experience immediate growth in your spiritual walk is through forgiveness. My practice has been a daily recitation of the Lord’s prayer, but with an added plea for my heavenly Father to raise up from my subconscious any woundedness, any grief, any grudge, any residue of unforgiveness that I might harbour. Time and again I have been surprised by a face or a circumstance that He has brought to mind, sometimes in the midst of prayer, sometimes at the mention of a name or at the sight of a photograph. Then I choose to forgive, and ask to be cleansed from all unrighteousness. I believe that this has been one of the catalysts for the amazing growth that I have experienced in the last three years. Forgiveness of my debtors, those who have wounded and grieved me, has restored the full benefits that I enjoy as a child of God.