What is this petition really saying? That God's forgiveness is conditional upon our forgiving others? It sure sounds like it, but that goes against the theme of grace present throughout the Bible.
God's forgiveness is completely free and unconditional, it doesn't depend on my forgiving others.
Jesus is teaching people that he presumes want to become godly, that is, gracious. If God's forgiveness is free and unconditional, it would be the natural thing for His followers to want to forgive in the same way. And so Jesus provokes us to ask, with all of our being, to become gracious like God. Praying this prayer exactly the way Jesus taught enables us to desire costly grace not just toward us, but through us.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
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