Forgiveness Doesn't Mean What You Think | Mornings with Mico

Yo, what's up with my peoples, man? Thanks for tuning in with me today, man. This week we are walking through, I mentioned it last week, I wanted to kind of talk about forgiveness this week. It just kind of came up, I know in one of the devotions we did last week and then just some conversations that I've been having in my own personal life, I just felt led to just kind of like take this week and just walk through forgiveness through the lens of scripture. So today we are diving in, we are in the book of Matthew chapter six, verse 14 and 15, I'll read it really quick. It says, for if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your father will not forgive you your sins. And I think off the bat, man, Jesus really just, he sets a standard here that can kind of feel a bit uncomfortable as we're seeing how God's forgiveness towards us is actually connected to our forgiveness towards others. And I think it's important to note and kind of set the tone that when we're talking about forgiveness right here, we're not talking necessarily, we're not talking about salvation, right? This isn't a matter of salvation that wouldn't concur with the rest of scripture as far as earning salvation by way of forgiving others. But rather this here, when it's talking about forgiveness and God not forgiving you, it's more so talking about just relationship, whereas where you may still be my friend, this may still be my son, but because of some unforgiveness between our relationship, right? That there's something off in our relationship. Forgiveness towards others and forgiveness towards God, you look at it this way, right? It's think of a road, right? And the forgiveness that forgiveness travels from your heart into others is the same road that forgiveness from God travels into our heart. And when we block off that forgiveness to go into others, we also cut off our supply

of God forgiving us. And ultimately what this does is it impacts our relationship with God, right? It actually impacts the intimacy that we have with God. Sin does that, including unforgiveness. Sin hinders intimacy with God and unforgiveness is one of those sins. But also, this is not saying that we're earning God's forgiveness with the way that we forgive others, right? That's not what this is talking about either. It's not a, okay, God, I'll forgive and then that's how I earned your forgiveness. But rather, instead of earning, this is more so a matter of revealing. It's a forgiven heart forgives, right? As you've been forgiven, you forgive. It reveals the posture and the condition of your heart. The Bible teaches that he who has been forgiven, he loves much. He has the ability to love much. He has the awareness to love much. He has the empathy to love much. So unforgiveness in your heart really exposes this disconnect. It reveals that although we may know forgiveness, although we may know grace, we have yet to fully receive it ourselves. When you realize that the weight of what you've been forgiven of, it's going to make it that much harder for you to hold someone else hostage, right, for what they've done to you. I've seen this play out in a number of ways. In some cases, like in my family, in some cases in previous work relationships. And for me, not to be so quick to point the finger at others, but when I see it and recognize it in others, you know, as you're dealing with people who are just always judging or condemning or talking bad or just, you know, holding on to offense and you see the way that it impacts them naturally for me, I'm like, okay, God, now how is this showing up in my life that I may not be aware of?

And I think it's important to understand that forgiveness and forgiving others, right? It's not saying that these offenses or maybe some of the things that people have done, it's not saying that they're not, um, that they're okay. It's not saying that, that it doesn't matter what was done. It's saying that, yeah, it matters, but I'm choosing to release it because honestly, this is the standard of, um, the kingdom kingdom sets the standard freely. You have received. And so freely you give forgiveness is not something that we get to hoard to ourselves. This has been freely given to us and we're called to be vessels for it to flow through. To others, right? This is again the way that we become reference points for what God forgiveness looks like This is the way that we reflect God to people, you know, that may or may not know him. I Think I'm just sitting with this. I am Naturally I'm thinking like okay, who who do you still feel justified holding on to something against this is something that even I'm Processing myself, right? Like I don't want to just sit up here and give you some information or whatever This is something that I'm even letting minister to me, right? Like who do you feel justified still holding on to something against and it's not necessarily who? Hurt you the most but who do you feel the most right about not forgiving? right Let's lean into that right let's lean into that tension because that's what this teaching really presses in We can identify those people and then take that before God. I want to leave you with some questions for you to Kind of sit with Your one-on-one time with God today It's do you truly believe how much you've been forgiven? Where are you withholding forgiveness and why? And what are you afraid of Maybe that's that's that's a factor. But what are you afraid of happening? If you let it go if you release this this offense, that's that's cancer is really in your own heart and Know that forgiveness is not to be confused with reconciliation. It doesn't necessarily mean reconciliation some cases that may not even be safe or smart It's not excusing people's behavior and it's not choosing to trust that person again, right? That's not what it is. But what it is, it's releasing them. It's releasing the offense from

Turning into Something that's actually really impacting your relationship with God and it's and it's just not good for your own heart It's pretty just choosing to release that right? So, yeah, that's um that is that is that is today we We freely give what's been freely given because that is the standard That's the kingdom standard Lord Help us soften our hearts Condition our hearts father that we may freely give forgiveness as you've forgiven us Not simply for the individuals who were forgiven Lord But that we don't have a fracture in a relationship between us and you Because that's what matters most Teach us to operate here on earth with kingdom principles We forgive because we've been forgiven Because we've been forgiven Pray out us in your son Jesus name. Amen