The “Lord’s” Prayer is Jesus’ Prayer that He shares with us. In the Lord’s Prayer, we pray “forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.” Here is how we learn it in the Small Catechism:

THE FIFTH PETITION OF THE LORD’S PRAYER
And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.
What does this mean? We pray in this petition that our Father in heaven would not look upon our sins, nor on their account deny our prayer; for we are not worthy of anything we ask, neither have we deserved it. But we pray that He would give us everything by grace, for we daily sin much and deserve nothing but punishment; and we on our part will heartily forgive and readily do good to those who sin against us.

Forgiveness starts with God, and then flows through us. Forgiveness never starts with us; it’s impossible for us to forgive others on our own. Our sinful nature seeks revenge on those who hurt us, we hold grudges, and we grow bitter towards those who sin against us. That is why Forgiveness always starts with God — and His Son Jesus.

The word Forgiveness means “release, set free”. Forgiveness means that you “release” other people’s sins, that you “set them free” in your heart and in your mind. That you don’t hold their sins against them. God has released your sins; He has set you free! Let God’s forgiveness flow through you so that you can release other people’s sins against you; and set free them free.

Forgiveness always starts with God in His Son Jesus, and then flows through you to other people. AMEN!