Are You a Christian Struggling to Forgive Others? Here's How You Can Overcome the Struggle

Most Christians, when they sin, can easily embrace and be thankful to God for the forgiveness they receive through the work of Christ. However, when it comes to forgiving others, the same Christians often face a big struggle.

Christians often find it hard to practice Jesus's instructions in passages such as Matthew 18:21-35, to forgive others.

In this blog post, I'm sharing a few key points a Christian should remember when it comes to forgiving others.

Here we go:

1. Jesus's forgiveness for me > My forgiveness for others - Are you yet to realize that Jesus taught His followers to forgive, and expects you to forgive the other person? Remind yourself of this: "Jesus was more generous in forgiving me by paying the penalty for my sins through His blood, and giving me the priceless gift of His salvation. My forgiveness for others, no matter how great it sounds to me, is not going to carry as much weightage as what Jesus did for me."

   
   

2. Jesus is righteous, authoritative, and powerful to punish me, yet He spares me - Are you struggling to forgive another person especially when they are wrong? Remind yourself of this: "Christ, being perfect, blameless, sinless, has been forgiving me whole-heartedly, despite being righteous, authoritative and powerful to punish me."

   
   

3. I'm forgiven by God countlessly - Are you struggling to forgive the same person more than once for the same wrong? Remind yourself of this: "I have been forgiven by God through Jesus a countless number of times for the same sin. If He stopped forgiving me the second time I committed the same sin, I wouldn't have had the life I'm having now. I'm surviving now only because He was merciful and forgiving to me countless times."

   
   

4. Christ waited patiently for my repentance when my heart was hardened - Are you struggling to forgive another person especially when they are wrong (but shows no remorse and intentionally continues hurting you)? Remind yourself of this, and seek God's guidance in handling the problem:

   
   

   "Before I accepted Christ as my Savior, He refrained from punishing me and waited patiently for my repentance instead of delivering justice immediately. I have to be patient with this person for the sake of Christ."

   
   

   IMPORTANT: You should also remember that God was patient with you because He can read the thoughts of your heart. But you cannot the other person's heart, and wait for their repentance in the future, unless God reveals it to you. While forgiving the other person is essential, you should also seek God's guidance to help you navigate the problem, and to keep your heart light and happy in Jesus at all times.

In conclusion, whenever we Christians (as individuals) struggle to forgive others, we must compare ourselves with Christ to realize how incomparably lacking we are (and are yet forgiven and loved by Him with the same love He first loved us) and strive to forgive others for the sake of Jesus.