Forgiveness is a character of God that he wants us to embody. Forgiveness is a requirement for two people to live in peace because we inevitably wrong each other. If there was a proof of God, forgiveness and love would both be parts of it. We’ll explore how forgiveness is a necessity for Heaven to be a place without suffering. You can have a place where beings live together without peace or forgiveness, but you cannot have Heaven without forgiveness.
Let us start out by examining what would happen if people rose from the dead, but there was not a system for forgiving one another. People who died in wars fighting against people they hate would still burn with hatred. People would war against each other again and kill each other over again. Simply raising the dead does not create the conditions for Heaven.
With forgiveness, people who die in wars against each other can meet Jesus. Jesus might tell them,”You should bear no ill will to anyone else. I’m instructing everyone this, and I am sovereign Lord. You do not have to fear for your safety in the Heavenly kingdom. Be good and loving to everyone for nothing bad can happen to anyone here.”
Of course, they need to accept Jesus to get to this point. The king isn’t going to let you into the kingdom unless you obey him. What do earthly kings do when you do not obey them? They imprison you or worse. To reject Jesus as your LORD is a terrible offense as you’re saying,”I want in Heaven, but I want to be able to do what I want even if that means harming others.” Right there, you see, if people reject Jesus, they could harm others, and Heaven wouldn’t be Heaven either. So accepting Jesus as personal LORD and Savior is a requirement to get into Heaven. I think it is entirely possible for someone to not accept Jesus on Earth, yet accept him in judgment, but I may be too generous. No one knows what will happen to people who don’t believe in Jesus in this life. We just know those who accept Jesus now and live according to love are guaranteed Heaven.
Forgiveness is what gives one being peace with another being. Until you have forgiveness for someone else, you still bear resentment or anger against them. Anger is not a positive state of mind, and does not leave you in a state of peace. Forgiveness is difficult to do for some acts especially when you think the perpetrator is going to strike again. We live in a world of authorities and if someone does wrong that they should be brought to justice, that is exactly what should happen. Still we should forgive all wrongs for our own peace of mind. Scripture says to not take revenge but let God do it. Once we let the matter go into God’s hands, he can produce a superior outcome to what we could do. Also if we rid ourselves of anger through forgiveness, we ourselves can be at peace too.
Heaven could not be a place devoid of suffering if forgiveness was not commanded. If we bore anger in our souls, that is a form of suffering. So for Heaven to be a place devoid of suffering, we cannot be angry at one another. We must love everyone and rejoice in their happiness, growth, and prosperity. It is good to do this on Earth too, but if you find an evil man, it is hard to want him to succeed. We’re to bless all people on Earth, even those who persecute us. The blessing I reserve for evil people is,”I hope this person finds the love of Jesus Christ” Jesus Christ can transform someone in ways that no other man can. Once someone is in Jesus, they are a new creation, the old has passed. Once someone is in Jesus, they are an ally, and other blessings are easier to pray for ’em.
For God to be perfect, the place he brings his creation must also be perfect. Heaven is just that. People may talk about fake gods and fake religions, but if you examine them closely, their notion of the afterlife is imperfect, or their gods are imperfect. The Triune God of Christianity is a perfect and all powerful God who isn’t just forgiving, but is seemingly required to be forgiving by nature. It is vitally important that we do forgive others for Jesus has already forgiven us. We’re generally to act how Jesus would act if it is possible. When you hear ‘What would Jesus do?’, it typically is a valid thought. So let us look at how God shows how we should act as he does:
Matthew 18:21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, if my brother keeps on sinning against me, how many times do I have to forgive him? Seven times?” 22 “No, not seven times,” answered Jesus, “but seventy times seven, 23 because the Kingdom of heaven is like this. Once there was a king who decided to check on his servants’ accounts. 24 He had just begun to do so when one of them was brought in who owed him millions of dollars. 25 The servant did not have enough to pay his debt, so the king ordered him to be sold as a slave, with his wife and his children and all that he had, in order to pay the debt. 26 The servant fell on his knees before the king. “Be patient with me,’ he begged, “and I will pay you everything!’ 27 The king felt sorry for him, so he forgave him the debt and let him go. 28 “Then the man went out and met one of his fellow servants who owed him a few dollars. He grabbed him and started choking him. “Pay back what you owe me!’ he said. 29 His fellow servant fell down and begged him, “Be patient with me, and I will pay you back!’ 30 But he refused; instead, he had him thrown into jail until he should pay the debt. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were very upset and went to the king and told him everything. 32 So he called the servant in. “You worthless slave!’ he said. “I forgave you the whole amount you owed me, just because you asked me to. 33 You should have had mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you.’ 34 The king was very angry, and he sent the servant to jail to be punished until he should pay back the whole amount.” 35 And Jesus concluded, “That is how my Father in heaven will treat every one of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”
We see the ultimate forgiveness when Jesus died on the cross for our sins. What we have to forgive typically is a more minor offense than being rejected and beaten to die on a rugged cross. We should not be like the man in the parable for forgave less than he was forgiven. We should understand the reason we forgive is because God commands it. Adjust your lifestyle then according to the teachings of Jesus.