3月17日

標　　題： 神對饒恕的衡量

經　　節： 你們饒恕人的過犯，你們的天父也必饒恕你們的過犯；你們不饒恕人的過犯，你們的天父也必不饒恕你們的過犯。（馬太福音六章14∼15節）

你也許自認是能饒恕的人，不過，你現在面臨對某位仁兄有心結，你很難饒恕他。當你正為難以饒恕苦惱時，你必須再回到當初神赦免你的情景。以弗所書二章指出，你原本是「外人」及「可怒之子」，但神赦免你的重罪與你對祂的悖逆。當你還作罪人的時候，基督就為你死（羅馬書五：8）。既然如此，你怎能拒絕饒恕那些得罪你的人呢？饒恕不是屬靈禮物，也不是一種技巧或遺傳特質，饒恕是個選擇。耶穌在十字架上，俯視那些冷酷嘲弄祂的人群，說：「父啊！赦免他們；因為他們所做的，他們不曉得。」（路加福音廿三：34）如此一來，我們怎能排拒那些侮辱冒犯我們的人呢？

耶穌告訴我們，我們饒恕人的量器與神赦免我們的量器是一樣的。神的行事作法與我們的行事方法大大不同。神的赦免並非取決我們所定的標準，而是取決於祂在自己話語上所設立的標準。神的赦免是沒有任何特例的。

若能真正瞭解神在我們生命中恩慈的赦免，我們自然願以恩慈與憐憫的心饒恕他人（以弗所書四：32；歌羅西書三：13）。在你懇求神的赦免之前，花點時間檢查自己的人際關係。你是否願意神饒恕你，正如你現在饒恕其他人一樣？

God’s Measure for Forgivness

"For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 "But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. (Matthew 6:14-15)

Perhaps you consider yourself a forgiving person, but you are now facing someone whom you cannot forgive. Whenever you struggle to forgive, you need to revisit what you were like when God first forgave you. Ephesians 2 indicates you were a “foreigner” and a “child of wrath.” Yet God forgave your most grievous sin and rebellion against Him. While you were still rejecting God, Christ died for you (Rom. 5:8). This being so, how can you refuse to forgive those who sin against you? Forgiveness is not a spiritual gift, a skill, or an inherited trait. Forgiveness is a choice. Jesus looked down on those who had ruthlessly and mockingly nailed Him to a cross, yet He cried out: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do” (Luke 23:34). How, then, can we refuse to forgive those who have committed offenses against us?

Jesus said that the measure in which we are forgiving is the same standard God will use in forgiving us. God’s ways are very different from ours. God’s forgiveness is not based on standards we determine, but on the standards He established in His Word. God allows for no exceptions when it comes to forgiveness.

As we truly understand God’s gracious forgiveness in our lives, we will naturally want to express this same forgiveness to others (Eph. 4:32; Col. 3:13). Before you ask God for His forgiveness, take a moment to examine the condition of your relationships. Would you want God to forgive you in the same way you are presently forgiving others?