by Ron Smith

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. Matthew 6:14-15 (KJV)

With excitement and pride, I looked over my beautiful new Dodge van. I had driven it home just the previous afternoon. It was the nicest, most expensive vehicle I had ever owned.

Imagine my shock when I noticed the word “Hi!” in four-inch letters scratched on my hood! My heart sank. Disbelief quickly turned to anger. My first reaction was a fleshly one: I wanted to curse the one who had so shamelessly defiled my possession! I stormed around the van to see if anything else was damaged. I could feel my pulse throbbing in my temple as my heartbeat drummed its fury.

“God, why? WHY?” I howled.

But God didn’t tell me what my flesh wanted to know. He knew that knowledge would only create bitterness and a desire for revenge.

Rather, He told me what my spirit needed to hear. He reminded me that it is a requirement to forgive-not a suggestion. That truth was hard to swallow. I just stared at the scratches, imagining the rust that would develop in time. My heart sank.

I knew God was right, but it was hard to do.

Finally, I gave up. “Okay, God. I forgive whoever did this to my van. It’s your van anyway. You were just gracious to let me borrow it for awhile.”

As I prayed, my heart took a left turn, and I could feel God’s love. Within seconds, I began to pray as Jesus had prayed on the cross. “God, I forgive the one who did this. I know You have already forgiven him too.”

I felt a release of my anger. Then I became bolder in my prayer. “Father, bless this person who had the evil desire to do this. Bless him with Your grace, mercy, and salvation. Amen.”

Then, with additional boldness, I proclaimed loud enough for all the demons in Hell to hear, “Father, in the future I will bless everyone who sins against me. I will pray for their salvation and their family’s salvation. No one will ever do evil against me again without me giving them my blessing!”