Father, I Forgive Them

Posted on Jan 11, 2016 Topic : Weekly Devotionals

“Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.’ And they divided up his clothes by casting lots” (Luke 23:34).

I don’t know about you, but when I’ve just been hurt by someone, the last thing I want to do is pray for that person. Most of us are more interested in focusing on some kind of justice so that the offending person will have to pay for the hurt or damage he or she has inflicted. But not Jesus.

Jesus, who had done nothing wrong, was brutally beaten within an inch of His life. His head was pierced with a crown of long, thick thorns. His skin was slashed. His hands and feet had spikes driven through them. His cross was dropped into a hole in the ground. He hung there, naked and humiliated, for all the world to laugh at and scorn. Some said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One” (23:35). The way they crucified Him is horrifying beyond what we can imagine. Yet as Jesus was hanging on the cross and dying in agony, He prayed for the men who were killing Him. “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” Such amazing forgiveness and love is hard to fathom.

As we look at the injustices in our lives, how do they compare with what Jesus endured? If He could forgive His torturers, surely we can choose to forgive too. Some of us have very deep wounds that may require time before total forgiveness is worked in us. But in most injustices that we’ve experienced, we can decide to let go of them quickly and completely and choose to forgive the offenders.

The good news is we can ask God to help us forgive. We can ask Him to show us His perspective in the matter. We can pray for Him to help us remember what Jesus endured and be able to say, “Father, I forgive them whether they knew what they were doing or not. I forgive them, not because they deserve it, but because I want to be like You.”

Lord, I pray You would help me to forgive others the way You do. You willingly forgive the worst of sins when people are repentant. Help me take my focus off whether people deserve to be forgiven or not, and instead focus on becoming more like You. It is only with Your enablement that I can forgive the seemingly unforgivable things people do. Help me forgive them completely because I want to do what pleases You.

In Jesus’ name I pray.