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In Jeremiah 33:1-9, the Lord modeled what grace and forgiveness was—and what it wasn't. First, forgiveness didn't mean pretending a wrong had not been done. The Lord said the people were evil, he was furious at their sin and rebellion, and he had to punish them (33:4, 5). Sin had broken their relationship. In your relationships, sometimes you, too, have to name the sin, confront in love, and explain its consequences.

But then you can choose forgiveness, as God did. "I will cleanse them from all their iniquity by which they have sinned against me, and I will pardon all their iniquities by which they have sinned, and by which they have transgressed against me," says the Lord (33:8). The Lord chose to forgive, and he himself took away the guilt of sin. He chose to forgive, heal, and bless his people even before they repented. So, too, you must choose to forgive, knowing God has taken away the guilt of sin at a great price—the death of his Son.

God's ability to forgive is rooted in his character. When you find it hard to forgive your spouse, it might help to focus on God and how he forgives you, rather than on the wrong done to you. Once you fully grasp grace as displayed by God himself, it's easier to forgive another person. (See also Ephesians 2:14-18; 1 Peter 3:8-15.)

Thus says the LORD who made it, the LORD who formed it to establish it (the LORD is his name): "Call to me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know." Jeremiah 33:2, 3

Have you chosen to forgive? Why, or why not?

Copyright 2003 by the author or Christianity Today International/Christian Bible Studies.

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