Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
– Ephesians 4:32 (NIV)
You cannot truly learn to love without learning to forgive. Forgiveness is not an optional add-on to love—it is at the very heart of it. God’s love for us was most clearly displayed in how far He went to forgive us. He did not spare His own Son, Jesus Christ, but gave Him up to be punished in our place so we could be freely and fully forgiven.
Having received this undeserved love and forgiveness through Christ, we now carry the capacity—and the responsibility—to forgive others. The more we understand how much we’ve been forgiven, the more willing we should be to forgive those who wrong us. Forgiveness and love go hand in hand. Those closest to us, whom we love most deeply, also have the greatest potential to offend us. That’s why we must learn to forgive—it is essential for lasting love.
Ephesians 4:32 reminds us to forgive others just as God forgave us through Christ. That’s a high standard—but it’s also a powerful one. Jesus set the example by not holding our sins against us. When Peter asked Jesus how many times we must forgive, Jesus essentially said, “infinitely” (Matthew 18:21–22). There should never be a point where our forgiveness runs out. If it’s a recurring toxic offence from a particular person, you may not necessarily need to have that same person in your space, but you ought to genuinely forgive from your heart.
Jesus illustrated this with a parable (Matthew 18:23–35): A king forgave his servant’s great debt, but that same servant refused to forgive a much smaller debt owed to him. It’s a sobering reminder that receiving grace should transform how we extend it.
Forgiveness is not always about restoring broken relationships—especially if there’s ongoing harm—but it is always about freeing your heart. Forgiveness is not based on whether someone deserves it or even asks for it. Christ forgave us while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8). That is the standard and source of our ability to forgive.
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, thank You for putting Your Holy Spirit in me and giving me the strength to forgive. Help me to live out this grace daily, forgiving as I have been forgiven. Amen.
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