Let me tell you about the first time I ever preached. It was at a funeral — for a cat. One day my brother was leaving the house in a hurry. While backing up, he hit an unexpected bump in the driveway. That bump happened to be a family pet named Snowflake. With tears in his eyes and sorrow in his voice, he knocked on my door and explained what happened. Wanting to do the right thing, we made her a pillowcase casket and arranged some wildflowers to lay on her grave.
We laid our fluffy friend to rest and began shoveling soil over the white pillowcase. As fabric began to disappear from sight my brother scoffed at me, “aren’t you going to say something?” This dude wanted me to give a formal eulogy for a cat! I stuttered, “Here lays our friend. He was a good cat. He loved a fancy feast, sleeping, and playing in the driveway. The latter ultimately became his demise. RIP Snowflake.”
Why on earth did my brother insist I say kind words at the feline funeral? It was because he needed to mourn. He needed to process what was happening, so the funeral helped him deal with his pain. However obvious it seems, funerals are not for the dead. They are for the living. These services help people mourn, process their pain, and ultimately heal. My brother had me do this whole bizarre ordeal because he needed closure.
Closure is crucial to healing.
Forgiveness is like a funeral.
Some of you need to put hard memories in their grave. Some of you have been harboring unforgiveness in your hearts for so long that it’s starting to consume you. Maybe someone said something.
Maybe someone did something.
Maybe you trusted someone and they let you down.
Whatever it is, it’s pivotal to start the process of forgiveness. You cannot fully live until you forgive.
READ: Colossians 3:13
“Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”
Forgiveness does not mean you forget. It does not mean that what they did was okay. It does not even mean they are off the hook. However, it means that you are not going to let the pain of the past cause more pain in the present. When you dwell on unforigiveness, it does not hurt them — it hurts you. There is so much freedom in forgiveness. I want you to experience that.
This passage teaches that we forgive because we are forgiven. You have experienced the greatest grace imaginable — God’s forgiveness. Allow that to empower you to forgive wholeheartedly, speak mercifully, and live fully. Take a moment to think of a place in your life that you need to forgive. Admit the pain. Pray for God to help you forgive. Then, strive to let it go — release it into God’s hands. There is relief in release.
Take a moment to think of one place you need to seek forgiveness in your life. Write that person’s name on a piece of paper and pray for God to empower you to forgive them. Sometimes this takes a process. Admit the pain, pray for the person, ask for God’s help, and release it into God’s hands.