My Part; God's Part!

My Part; God's Part!

“In prayer there is a connection between what God does and what you do. You can’t get forgiveness from God, for instance, without also forgiving others. Matthew 6:14‭ MSG

For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
Matthew 6:14 KJV

Same verse; different perspectives. So many lessons to pick up from today's extract, but we examine a few. First, it is assumed that those who know and follow God take delight in speaking with Him in prayer. This extract is from the Sermon on the Mount, with Jesus teaching his disciples about how to relate with God and man. Do I know and speak to God as a son or daughter should do? Is it a daily affair or a once in a while thing? Prayer isn't so much about God doing his bit; he's faithful to His word. It's more about me giving God liberty to work in me, so I can be all He wants me to be.

That leads to another application: in relationships with other people, offence will happen. How I handle offence speaks a lot about how much I have allowed God work in and through me. There is however a warning: how I treat others is a reflection of what to expect from God too. Men will offend me, just as I have offended God too, but in the same way God forgave me, so does He expect me to forgive others too. It is more like getting back from God whatever it is that you offer other people.

And in that is a warning: there are eternal consequences attached to all of life's decisions. All I do now is a preparation for eternity. If I do not obey God down here in the matter of human relationships, how do I convince God that I qualify for life in heaven? God has done his bit; I am asked to do my bit. Grace is available for the journey and it can only make sense when you rely on this grace. His time of favour is here.