Scripture

2 Corinthians 8:9 NIV

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.

Consider

Conflicts are expensive. Whether we choose a course of resentment or forgiveness, we will somehow pay a price for our relationship troubles.

We all know the cost of clinging to a grudge. Ruminating over an offense costs us time and energy, as well as personal peace and spiritual vitality. Stoking the fire of our resentment requires vigilance, or the flames may die out. We invest ourselves in reciting and modifying the narrative of how we were wronged so that others will sympathize with us.

Forgiving our offender is also costly. Our forgiving requires that we make ourselves poorer so that the other might become richer. As followers of Christ, we imitate the One who “did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28). We choose to pay the ransom necessary to release our offender from bondage to the offense. Whether or not that person chooses to accept our forgiveness, we personally consider his or her debt to us paid in full.

How do we pay this debt?

• We may give up our right to seek compensation or retribution for what we have suffered.
• We resist opportunities to indulge ourselves in gossip, spiteful accusations, or passive-aggressive attacks.
• We surrender our desire to curse and malign this person but learn to bless instead.
• We seek opportunities to spend ourselves in helping and praying for this person.
• We sacrifice our self-serving desires in favor of God’s desires for this person and this relationship.

No matter how much we pay to cover the debt, God promises to fully reimburse us. As much as you forgive, God says, I will forgive you more. The grace you lavish on your offender, I will return to you in such abundance that your account will overflow. You will know the peace and joy that come from trusting Me with your relationship troubles and following the example Jesus set for you to resolve them.

Pray

God of Mercy, thank you for sending your Son to ransom me from a debt I could never pay. Help me overcome my stubborn reluctance to be generous with the grace you lavish on me. Guide me in the ways of mercy and self-sacrifice for the sake of your kingdom on earth.

Reflect

Matthew 6:12; Ephesians 2:4-10

Ponder

When did someone absorb the cost of my wrongdoing and forgive me? How did this grace affect me?