“For if you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you . . . ” Matthew 6:14, TLV
Scary Bible Verse. Jesus said some scary things. Scary because they hold us accountable for our own actions. They might, on the surface, seem counterintuitive to who we believe our Messiah to be because they seem harsh, but they are necessary.
Today’s verse is the gentle reminder, but the scary, accountable bit follows:
“But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions.” Matthew 6:15, TLV
Does that really mean if we don’t forgive the horrible offenses and sins others commit against us and against those we love or care about, our Father won’t forgive us?
Yes.
See what I mean by scary?
If you’ve followed my blogs over the years, you know that forgiveness has nothing to do with wanting to forgive someone, it has to do with obedience and choice. Forgiving someone doesn’t mean we treat sin lightly, on the contrary, forgiveness is counting the cost — a great cost. We don’t offer forgiveness because someone asks for it first — or ever repents and asks for it. Always, forgiveness is not holding ourselves as judge over another’s soul, especially since that’s not our job.
Forgiveness does not mean we condone the sin. When we forgive, it 
does not always mean we return to a close fellowship — if only that were true. After we forgive, we may not feel anything, and we may have to forgive in layers like an onion because the wounds are so deep. Keep forgiving and healing will come.
October 7th will long be remembered as the beginning of a brutality that to anyone with a heart, is unforgiveable. Honestly, the thought of forgiving the people committing these acts seems impossible. Does this command by Yeshua apply to these atrocities? Yes and no. No to the tortures and murders. Yes, to the perpetrators. Not because they deserve it.
Does forgiveness exclude justice? No. Revenge? Yes.
Never take your own revenge, loved ones, but give room for God’s wrath—for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay,” says ADONAI [the LORD]. Romans 12:19, TLV
Forgiveness? Maybe not this minute. Perhaps as the grief settles into the new normal of our lives, we seek to forgive “just a little” to have a bit of peace. Unforgiveness will eventually cause bitterness and torment (Matthew 18:21-35). Releasing our need for revenge, frees us. Because with bitterness no amount of justice will give us peace.
Remember, before we ever repented and asked for forgiveness, our Father sent Yeshua to atone for our sins. How can we not choose to forgive another? He’ll give us the strength to continue to walk forgiveness through — difficult though it may be. But it is worth the freedom, my friends. Let it go and forgive.
Unforgiveness is like garbage, it doesn’t belong in us or our hearts.
Even though this is a scary verse, it is also a freedom verse. Freedom from bitterness, pride, and torment. I guess that’s not so scary.
Hanukkah: Tonight, we light the fourth candle as a reminder that 
God exacted both justice and revenge on the Seleucid Empire who persecuted His people and defiled His Temple. Know any Seleucids? No, because they are no more. They were eventually overthrown by the Romans over 200 years later in 83 AD/CE.
Thus says ADONAI,
who gives the sun as a light by day
and the fixed order of the moon
and the stars as a light by night,
who stirs up the sea so its waves roar,
ADONAI-Tzva’ot [the LORD of Hosts] is His Name:
“Only if this fixed order departs from before Me”
—it is a declaration of ADONAI—
“then also might Israel’s offspring cease
from being a nation
before Me—for all time.” Jeremiah 31:34-35 [Emphasis Mine]
