I have two special file folders, one paper and one digital. They hold important evidence of life-changing events for my wife and me. Each item proves we paid off a debt, from student loans to car loans to mortgages. Some are simple attestations from the lienholder; others are payment records spanning years that end with a zero balance and a lienholder stamp. Some records carry painful reminders of lean times and the anxious weight of debt. Seeing those records now refreshes the wave of relief I felt when we got the payoff confirmation.
In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus says we should pray this petition: “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors” (Matthew 6:12). The gospels were written in Greek, and “debt” correctly translates the financial term here. It’s the same Greek word used for debts in Jesus’ parable of the unmerciful servant in Matthew 18. Also, the Greek verb translated “we forgive” has a completed aspect, like “as we have forgiven and continue to forgive our debtors”. It’s not about what we plan to or might forgive someday.
There’s an old hymn that goes: “Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe; Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow.” It’s right to feel a great burden lifted when we submit all our moral and spiritual debt to the Merciful Master for payment, and the cross is our tangible receipt of paid in full. And if He paid it all, why would we hold on to any negative balance?
That payment is what enables us to forgive the debts of others. “Even as Christ forgave you, so also do you.” (Colossians 3:13). Forgiving should be paid forward. No conditions. I get that we self-righteously count some sins as unforgivable. Yet didn’t Jesus Himself forgive His enemies from the cross? Like Paul said, as Jesus did, so should we. What evidence will you provide the people you forgive? How will they have proof you have forgiven them?
Forgiveness isn’t cheap. The debts we rack up against God and each other get real big real fast. But how can we live with unforgiveness? What kind of life can we have if we must carry that crushing weight forever? That’s why I keep the reminders in those file folders. I never want to forget the debts that have been lifted from me.
Dr. Carl Grosse is an ordained pastor and the author of Faith Along the Way, a weekly reflection for KnoxTNToday that encourages readers to discover God’s presence in everyday life and share His love with others.
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