Romans 6:12-14 NLT
Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.
Granting forgiveness, experiencing total freedom, and letting go for good is a mental, emotional, and spiritual experience. And yes, it can even be physical. Holding onto bitterness affects our ability to smile, facial expressions, countenance, and body language.
When our hearts are closed, we look closed off. Giving ourselves completely to God, as Paul tells us here, is as much as about what we let go of as what we take up. To block forgiveness from someone is to allow sin to be our master and keep us under the law, not under grace. And when we can’t give grace, we can’t embrace grace.
If there is someone you struggle to let go of and forgive, think about how this makes you feel, even physically, how it affects your being in every manner? Refusing to let go creates more pain as we work harder to hold on.
Listen once again to Paul’s commands:
Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace. (Romans 6:12-14 NLT)
Forgiveness and letting go diminishes sin’s control, allowing us the freedom to give ourselves completely to God, to glorify Him, for Him to be our Master, not sin. To live under the freedom of God’s grace.
Pray with me, using Paul’s words: “Dear Father, help me to not let sin control the way I live; to not give in to sinful desires, to not let any part of my body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Help me to give myself completely to You and experience new life, to use my whole body as an instrument to do what is right for Your glory. I do not want sin to be my master or live under the requirements of the law. Instead, let me live under the freedom of Your grace. As above, so below.”