Two Life-Changing Questions

"So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart." 
Matthew 18:35 (NIV)

I was once riding in an Uber through Cambodia with my driver named Phan. As we talked, Phan shared his incredible story. His father had been murdered by the brutal regime in Cambodia. He and his mother escaped to California, where she married a man who turned out to be a horrible stepfather. He beat and physically abused Phan until he was seventeen.

Both Phan and his mother were Buddhists. And they were bitter.

Then, some friends invited Phan's mother to a Cambodian church. She became a Christian, and Phan noticed that she stopped talking about his stepfather. She had fully, freely, and finally forgiven the man for everything he'd done to them.

Phan told me that the change in his mother’s life led him to Christ. He said to me, "When I realized what Jesus had done for me, I had to do for my stepfather what Jesus did for me—I forgave him. I'm now a free man."

The two questions that will change your life forever are these: 

Who do you need to get forgiveness from? 

Who do you need to give forgiveness to?

Let God help you stop thinking about what's been done to you, and start thinking about what's been done for you. When bitterness tempts you to stay angry, choose freedom instead. Call that person who hurt you and say, "I forgive you." Write that letter you've been avoiding. Have that conversation you've been putting off. 

Forgiveness primarily benefits the one who forgives—you.

Prayer: Father, thank You for Your free and full forgiveness. Show me who I need to forgive and who I need to ask forgiveness from. Help me stop focusing on what's been done to me and start focusing on what you've done for me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.