Click for Audio: The Prospering Act of Forgiveness
The Wisdom of Jesus Series: The Lord’s Prayer: part 3 of 6
Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.
It’s interesting to note in this line that the fulfillment of our daily bread, our daily needs, is tied to the act of forgiveness. If, as I suggested in the previous lesson, you assume for this prayer the affirmative point of view, you see this line as saying, My needs for today are met and all blocks to my greater good are removed as I release all resentments of the past. These words depict both receptive and releasing attitudes of mind.
The receptive attitude is substantiated by the idea that God is a loving provider, a willing source of good. An attitude of release indicates that the key to a greater flow of good is your act of letting go of anything that blocks the flow. When you hold resentment for even the smallest offense, your thought and emotional energies accumulate around that offense creating a blockage that hinders the free flow of the divine. It is like dropping a large rock in an irrigation ditch. Soon other debris catches on the rock, hampering the free-flow of water. Forgiveness is the equivalent of removing the rock and restoring the natural flow of life-giving water.
In another place, Jesus speaks of this dynamic in this slightly different way: “So if you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift.” (Matthew 5:23-24). It’s all about keeping your mind an open channel through which the infinite life of God may manifest in continually expansive ways.
Charles Fillmore, co-founder of Unity, pointed out that mind is the “common meeting ground of God and man.” When our mind is locked in resentment, our creativity and receptivity become restricted to a very narrow level of operation. This line in the Lord’s Prayer reminds us to keep the avenue of mind open and fluid.