Forgiven?

“For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."

This is a verse that God has used in my life over the years and continues, pretty much daily, to remind me of. You know, God sees sin one way. It is sin. He does not see sin in degrees of seriousness. He sees sin as what it is. Sin is the opposite of Him. Sin is the one and only reason that His love sent His son to the cross. To sin is to do the opposite of God. So I see forgiveness as a command of Christ. I see it as a need. I see forgiveness as a fruit of truly realizing the magnitude of the cross. We as Christians do not have the option to hold a grudge. God in His love forgave us and forgave those that we hold a grudge against. Who are we, or should I say, who do we think we are when we allow ourselves to think that an offense against us is greater than our offences against Christ? Do we think we have more right than Christ to withhold forgiveness? Forgiveness often is the small step that it takes to make the forgiven realize the seriousness of their offence anyway. How serious would we take sin if we knew we would never be forgiven? Forgiveness Springs out of love. It may not always be out of a love for the person being forgiven, but it should be out of a love for the Lord and a desire to imitate Him in His holiness.