The one thing we bank on as Christians is God's mercy.
We believe that God loves us and no matter how great our sin. With true sorrow and firm resolve to not sin again, God will forgive us.
So I wonder why forgiveness is so hard for so many of us.
As much as we love people, we know that as we enter into relationships we are bound to be wounded and of course we will most likely hurt others. In our humanness we disappoint each other; in word and deed we fail to be our best.
The need to forgive and ask forgiveness is a constant in our lives.
And it is such a challenge for us.
Either we cannot forgive at all, or we forgive to a point and hold on to grudges and hurt feelings.
But here Jesus reminds us that we will be forgiven by God for sure, but in proportion or in response to the forgiveness we offer others!
If we want to be forgiven we have to learn to forgive. This is a challenge for Lent - to learn to be as merciful with others as we hope God will be with us.
