39. God immediately forgives and never holds grudges.
I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more. {Isaiah 43:25}
One of the things we often wonder about God when we’re reading those unsavory parts of the Bible is whether He is unforgiving, because to be quite honest, there are times when He appears to be pretty harsh and unrelenting in His words and deeds.
That’s one of the reasons Jesus came to make sure we would know that God is immediately forgiving. Anything that looks unforgiving or severe is due to our limited perspective or misunderstanding. For in the last day of Jesus’ life, as He was being beaten and tortured and hung up to die, He said, “Father, forgive them.” He spoke no harsh words; He uttered no complaints. He didn’t even issue a gentle warning to those who were abusing Him. He only spoke forgiveness.
What that says about God is that there is nothing we can do to Him to make Him lash out at us or retaliate against us. If God responded with unqualified forgiveness when He was being tortured, we never have to worry about whether God has forgiven us for the things we’ve done that have hurt Him. Those words—forgive them—apply to everyone, including Satan. God doesn’t hold grudges, and He doesn’t cherish the right to get revenge when He has been wronged. He forgives because He is a forgiving person. It’s that simple.
If you want to dig deeper—
Psalm 103:12
Isaiah 55:7
Daniel 9:9
Luke 15:20
Luke 23:34
Luke 24:47
John 3:16-17
Ephesians 4:31-32
Revelation 3:7-8a; 4:1a