The Flow of Forgiveness

If you forgive those who sin against you Your heavenly Father will also forgive you But if you hold on to the wrongs they’ve done And refuse to let mercy flow from your heart Then don’t expect forgiveness from above The door stays closed when we close it on others But if you do not forgive others their sins Your Father will not forgive your sins We pray “Forgive us our debts As we forgive our debtors” every day Those words carry weight—they echo in heaven If we say them but don’t live them out We’re asking God to treat us the same Measuring back the mercy we refuse to give But if you do not forgive others their sins Your Father will not forgive your sins Be kind to one another, tenderhearted Forgiving each other just as God in Christ forgave you He canceled the record of debt that stood against us Nailing it to the cross, setting us free How can we who’ve been forgiven so much Withhold forgiveness from anyone else? But if you do not forgive others their sins Your Father will not forgive your sins The servant owed a debt he could never repay Yet the master forgave it all in amazing grace But that same servant grabbed a fellow servant by the throat Demanding every penny—unforgiving, cruel So the master handed him over until the debt was paid We reap the forgiveness we’re willing to give But if you do not forgive others their sins Your Father will not forgive your sins Let go of the hurt, release every chain Open your heart—let His mercy remain Forgive from the depths as you’ve been forgiven Seventy times seven, again and again Only then will heaven’s forgiveness flow free Unblocked by the grace we choose to release But if you do not forgive others their sins Your Father will not forgive your sins