Psalm 103

Big Idea:

Forgiveness. Park on verses 11-14. Talk about how forgiveness makes us bitter and how bitterness ruined the life of Esau. Youversion story on forgiveness. I listened to this and thought of a view people I was holding grudges towards. My family has a legacy of this. We’re good at it. We can write you off. We can stay mad for a long time. But Jesus came to break that chain. And that chain is mostly on the bitter person, not the person who wronged. A huge weight came off.

Wounded people wound others. Broken people can’t fix broken people; otherwise, they’d fix themselves first. But understanding our brokenness and wounds can help us respond the right way. And It shouldn’t increase our bitterness but increase our compassion. I think of Jesus and how He engages us. More than anyone, He knows our sins and how we have wounded others. But He’s also seen our wounds. And He has compassion on us. A broken reed He will not break.

In fact, He took our wounds upon Himself (Isa 53). One of the best stories I’ve seen is Zecharias. He took the shame upon himself that belonged to Zecharias. When we forgive others, not only do we truly understand our forgiveness, but we help people see themselves as God sees them - as children of God. You see… only perfect people can fix broken people. Only completely healthy people can heal wounded people. Only pure truth can destroy lies. And there is only one perfect, complete, and purely true person… that’s Jesus.

When we dont, Jesus tells a story of this (unforgiving servant).