"Verily, verily, I say unto you, my servants, that inasmuch as you have forgiven one another your trespasses, even so I, the Lord, forgive you."
How many times have I read this verse and heard this verse in Church?! Right, a lot. But this time for some reason, something completely jumped off of the page and bit me in the nose. Lately I've been thinking about how we are our own worst critics, how we forgive our family and friends so much more easily than we forgive ourselves. But lo and behold! This verse offers comfort!
I've always heard this verse interpreted as we must forgive each other in order to be forgiven. Today, I interpret it a different way. I see that even as I readily forgive my family and friends, and even strangers, the Lord readily forgives me.
That doesn't mean he'll forgive me just like that (you didn't see it, but I just snapped my fingers on the word "that"). At the beginning of this verse, the Lord addresses His servants. That means this applies to people who are striving to live in accordance to the Lord's will, the people who try to obey the word of God. So yeah, you have to put forth some effort in order to change (by the power of the Atonement in order) to be forgiven, but the Lord is willing to forgive you, even as you are willing to forgive a family member or a friend who has done something wrong, feels bad, and who wants to fix it. When you know they are sorry for what they have done, isn't it natural to forgive those who you love? The Lord loves us, and He forgives us our trespasses. Believe this. It's an important concept to grasp, or He wouldn't say "verily" twice in this verse.
Choose to Cleave.
*Read my first post, "Preface," for more information about Cleaving
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