‘Forgiveness’ always makes for a headline in our world. Just recently, online, there was a headline proclaiming the remarkable nature of ‘forgiveness’ that was offered by a sibling of one of those killed at Bondi. Our world marvels at such a notion… but ‘forgiveness’ is central to nature of God’s kingdom. And so it is central to the relationship between God and his children.

That all being said, how do we define ‘forgiveness’? What does ‘forgive’ mean? How does our forgiveness by God affect our relationships with each other?

All of these questions are connected to the next request that Jesus outlines in the Lord’s Prayer: ‘And forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors’.

As we read this request, please be aware of two truths. First, this is a request spoken our Father—the relationship with our Father exists, and is displayed in how we live that out. This request is not one of ‘condition’ but of ‘consequence’. Second, please note that this request captures the essential vertical-horizontal nature of being children of God—it starts with God (vertical) and plays out with others (horizontal).