Mark 2:6&7 “Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” So. Here’s MY answer – WE CAN, the Body of Christ. Jesus Christ died and gave us all the power to forgive others.

First of all that forgiveness opens our hearts to the eternal – and then it releases His loving Grace toward other people. When we forgive others unconditionally, we can use that authority to tell our enemy to take a hike. I usually ask the Lord is there anything else He wants me to do about what happened and whoever hurt me. You know, sometimes forgiving others, is more about my own pride and hurt feelings than the other person?. It is humbling to give up your right to protect yourself from someone who repeatedly hurts you. The good news is we always know the end of THAT particularly difficult story of pain and suffering – because it’s also HIS story!!  And that makes all the difference.

Because the Lord died in our place, and He was utterly innocent, we can clearly see the enormous power of forgiveness. There are many times when we too, will be innocent of any wrong doing. Those are the times to remember that when we forgive others, we are releasing the power of forgiveness – the power of God into the perpetrator’s life. It’s called GRACE. Grace is UNDESERVED – and it is given at great cost. Jesus did not deserve what happened to Him, yet He gave up His life, and His own authority to do the will of the Father. That’s our job now, too.

After His death, Jesus went to hell, where He stripped the enemy of his authority over mankind – forever! Then Christ was resurrected. And now, because He freely did that, WE have the authority and the POWER to forgive. He gave it to us. (Ps you hardly EVER feel like it – it’s always an ongoing choice!) What Christ did at that time, paved the way for the Holy Spirit to be with, and IN, every man woman and child who was ever on this planet. By taking away sin, Jesus released the Holy Spirit to do us all good. 

In John 20:23 it says: “If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” That’s power! We need to live our lives aware of how important forgiving others IS. We are now HIS peacemakers. I mean, think about it, who on earth would want to be a rabble-rouser or a grumpy, unforgiving person, when you can be HIS peace maker??  😳 The peace makers get a blessing – they get to be called the children of God! Wow. We cannot lose for winning. 

When you and I want to follow Jesus and live like He did, this is what our new life looks like, day by day. And some people are going to absolutely love us 💕 and … others are … not! Meanwhile we all know that the ‘nots’ can have loud voices and be pretty hard to take. That’s when I forgive them and start praying that the Lord will save them. 

Our enemy isn’t people – it’s the devil on their back. They’ve been lied to! We must make an effort to learn how to discern our enemy. Remember, now, we have a choice. We don’t have to forgive people – we GET to forgive them, He gave us the power to do it. And we get there the same way Christ did – we die – to self. It’s not a law, it’s His GRACE. When we choose to forgive others who don’t deserve it, we are taking the same authority Jesus Christ Himself had, and using it the exact same way HE WOULD. We have the power to change people’s lives – by releasing forgiveness and the Grace of God to do them good.

I bless anybody who hurts me, by accident or not. I bless the daylights out of them … right up one hill and down the other! 😂 I just keep doing it! I bless their kids, if they have some … I bless their finances, I bless their health, I bless their relationships, I bless their jobs, and I bless their spirituality with more understanding! I ask the Lord to bless them MORE THAN He is going to bless me! And that gets rid of the spirit of competition right there! 

Doing this has become a litmus test for me – if I can’t bless someone, then I’m still mad somewhere and I go back to the Lord and ask Him to show me what’s in the way so I can get rid of it. We have the power to set people free. That power can affect someone else’s eternal POV as well as their journey here on earth. Very few people are born into this world evil. Most people-who-don’t-know-Him-yet are just trying to find their way, make a few bucks, and raise their kids. They don’t know any better, and unless we forgive them, and tell them otherwise, they will stay there – locked inside their sinful ways.

“BUT I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; …” Christians get to do this daily. Could anything seriously BE more fun than blessing the guy who is driving you nut, and knowing you are sending the HOLY SPIRIT after them. God gave us this power for good. First of all, WE get free, and secondly there is reconciliation all over the place. I’ve been blessing some people for thirty, forty, fifty years – but God’s gunna get them!  ‘He knows a way where there seems to be no way -He works in ways we cannot see.’

My faith is not in other people. My faith is in the One Who came after me. TWICE! I know He is faithful – I want to use the power He gave me for other people’s good. Starting with my enemies. 👋🏻