Don't Forgive and Forget
on Mother's Day
truth about forgiveness

By Daniel Rendelman ~ ravemet@comcast.net

If Mothers Day is such a wonderful time of celebrating the best of motherhood, then why do so many families allow unforgiveness to ruin the remembrance? Well, even though mama always said, “life is like a box of chocolates and you never know what you are gonna get” we can certainly know that life is full of drama. Family spats and issues between siblings are as old as the Garden of Eden. Such disagreements often lead into people holding grudges against one another which breed bitterness, stress, and even sickness. These problems of family pain can’t be ignored for the sake of Mother’s Day.

Unforgiveness is a deadly trap that stops people from experiencing the joy of a peaceful family and the power of a fruitful spiritual life. Unforgiveness can block prayers from being answered and sins from being forgiven. To free the family from unforgiveness, the person who sinned must be separated from the hurtful action. It is simply impossible to forgive and forget as scars of past altercations will always remain. Don’t focus on forgetting what has happened! Instead, apply that same efforts to separating what has happened from the person who did it. The Heavenly Father did not allow sin to stand in the way of His forgiveness. Ephesians 1:3-6 shows how the Almighty let go of the pain of sin and made believers “blameless in His sight.” This is a spiritual principle from above that can be applied horizontally to relationships here on Earth. Let go of the hurt caused by the family, spouse, church, boss, supposed friends, or whoever. Separate the sin from the sinner just as the YHWH does.

It is said that forgiveness is “giving up your right to hurt someone because they hurt you.” This simple statement is indeed profound but it does not go far enough. Biblical forgiveness is based on a revelation on what YHWH has done, and not on what another person has done. It is actually “giving up your desire to hurt someone because they have hurt you.” When a person shows true forgiveness, the right and the desire to exact judgment are lost and replaced with love and mercy.

The scriptures teach that personal forgiveness from the Creator is directly equal to the forgiveness shown to family, friends, and strangers. “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins,” Matthew 6:14-15. The scriptures even indicate that sometimes the answer to prayer is connected to the unforgiveness shown other people. Mark 11:22-24 is a verse that has been used to justify a “name it and claim it” approach to prayer.

Read in context, these verses explain that faith in the YHWH must be accompanied with forgiveness towards man; otherwise prayer will not be answered. "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your sins,” Mark 11:22-26. Receive “whatever you ask for in prayer” if and only if “you will “forgive” the sins that are held against others.

Letting go of the past offenses commands blessing and release answers to prayer. Family trouble must be dealt with and love must be showed on all sides for mom to be truly honored this week or, for that matter, anytime.