Forgiveness

2 Nephi 33:10

"...And if ye shall believe in Christ ye will believe in these words, for they are the words of Christ, and he hath given them unto me; and they teach all men that they should do good."

My mind, at this time in my life, is turned to a certain parable in the New Testament.  It is found in Matthew 18, verses 23-34.  It speaks about forgiving debts, and implies that debts be thought of as insults/trespasses/sins against us in life.  And if we have been forgiven our tespasses against Christ, then we have no place to stand in condemning others when the greater forgiveness lies in our favor.  The parable finishes by explaining that if we fail to forgive other people in this life, we must then be considered as unforgiven in the Lord's eyes, and must therefore pay for our sins when we otherwise would not have to.  The verse after the parable where Christ sums it up is the powerful part though, in my estimation.  It reads as follows:

"So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses."

As my mind is consumed with the topic of forgiveness, restitution, repentance, etc, I can't help but come to an understanding, after reading this scripture, that it really is our own loss if we can't find the strength, the humility, the love, to forgive everyone that offends us.  Whether it be a great offense or a small one.  The offense itself isn't what matters to the Lord, but the way in which we respond to it.  The way our heart looks at it.  The way in which we do or do not forgive the offender, an honest and sincere forgiveness, and not just lip service.  

And what do we do if we find ourselves unforgiven by our fellow man of offenses we have committed against them?  Well, the worst thing we can do is let their sin (the sin of unforgiveness) affect our own ability to forgive, our own ability to feel the spirit, our own ability to believe in others, our own ability to believe in ourself.  If we truly repent for our sins, make proper restitution (which many times requires the approval of the church), and truly separate ourselves from that sin in desire and in being consumed in the guilt, then there is no reason that we should let the unforgiving heart of someone else affect us in any way.  The Lord lets us know that we are forgiven by giving us a burning in our bosom when we pray about it.  The feeling of peace that overcomes us when we pray is nothing other than revelation, and it should not be taken lightly.  If God deems us worthy to be forgiven, we should be rejoicing, not questioning it. Questioning our status in the Lord's eyes after receiving the comfort of the Holy Ghost is nothing short of pride.

Interesting conundrum that we're apt to get into isn't it?  Our lack of ability to feel forgiven for a sin we've committed, ends up contrasting the very spirit that led us to repent in the first place, humility.  

"Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."