Forgive and you will be forgiven!

“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” (Luke 6:37)

This caught me by surprise!

At a recent conference I was attending, I spoke to a young man who stopped by my table where I was handing out gospel tracts. I asked him if he was a follower of Jesus, and he said, “I sure am!” And he looked down and pointed to the inside of his shirt. Puzzled, I asked him what he was doing. And he said, I have a Bible verse tattooed on my chest.” Surprised and a bit astonished, I asked him, “What verse?” And he said, “Luke 6:37.” That’s our promise verse at the top. We then spent some time discussing what it meant for his daily life as a representative of Jesus. Basically, the verse says not to judge or condemn others but instead to forgive them. And by doing so, the promise is that you won’t be judged, you won’t be condemned, but you will be forgiven! Now that’s a great way to live as Jesus did!

Therefore

“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” (Eph. 4:32)