Forgiving Ourselves

I was thinking the other day about sin. How when we sin we have a hard time letting go and forgiving ourselves. The thought came to me of when Peter asked Jesus how often should he forgive his brother if he sins against him. He asked Jesus should he forgive him up to 7 times. And Jesus responded by telling him that he should forgive 70 times 7 - Matt. 18.21-22. Just think about that, we are to forgive 70 times 7, that is 490 times. Can you imagine 490 times a day. How many people actually sin 490 times in a day, probably no one. However, if you did sin that many times you would have to try really hard. Now if God tells us to forgive our brother 490 times a day, wouldn't he hold himself to the same standards that he gave to us. That would mean that God is willing to forgive us 490 times a day. That is a lot of forgiveness. Now if God wants us to forgive our brother 490 times in a day, wouldn't he want us to apply that to ourselves?

When it comes to forgiveness we need to learn to forgive ourselves. Anytime we do wrong and we have a hard time accepting God's forgiveness, let alone our own we need to remember that even God is willing to forgive us 490 times a day, so we ought to be willing to forgive ourselves with the same amount of forgiveness that God has made available to us. So when you find yourself in a state of sin, feeling guilty, alone, sad and dejected, remember you are not without forgiveness. God forgives you and so you must also forgive yourself. The scripture says that if you aren't able to forgive your brother, God is not able to forgive you your sins. If you aren't able to forgive yourself, how can you ever find the forgiveness of God. It would seem to be impossible. Forgive yourself and let God be the forgiving Father that he is.