What does it mean to err? It means to make a mistake or to wander off of a direct course.

When we sin against God; we have wandered off His right way which is narrow, and we have missed the mark. However, the Bible tells us that all people have sinned or missed the mark.

The Bible says that all have fallen short of the glory of God. This means that we have erred from God's excellence and His perfection.

Romans 3:23, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;"

What is the glory of God? The glory of God comes when we have His Presence which is full of excellence, majesty and splendor.

Easton's Dictionary describes it as:
(4.) The glorious moral attributes, the infinite perfections of God (Isa. 40:5; Acts 7:2; Rom.
1:23; 9:23; Eph. 1:12). Jesus is the "brightness of the Father's glory" (Heb. 1:3; John 1:14;
2:11).

We as mortals cannot possess the glory of God without God's Presence being within us. Our only hope is in Christ's glorious presence in our lives.

John The Baptist prayed that Christ would increase and he would decrease.

John 3:30, "He must increase, but I must decrease."

Our hope is in Him, and it is “Christ in us, the hope of glory”.

Colossians 1:27, "To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:"

That is why it is divine to forgive. True, pure forgiveness is not possible for a human being without God's help. We humans are basically selfish, revengeful and unforgiving in the natural.

It takes the “super” natural power of God to forgive. Then you may say, “Then what is our part in forgiveness?” Ours is the crucial part and the initial impetus.

Forgiveness, for a Christian is in a decision. We must decide to forgive or to hold on to an offense.

The sooner we decide to forgive; the sooner the Lord can start the healing process in our hearts and lives.

We suffer offenses on a regular basis, and so it is imperative for each one of us to know the process for overcoming unforgiveness in the Name of Jesus Christ.

The Lord has provided the answer, it is His blood. His blood covers every sin and offense, not only from us toward others but also offenses toward us from our worse enemies.

When we are offended; we can forgive because God has forgiven us, and so we can in turn decide to forgive as God decided to forgive us and to love us even when we were in sin.

We are also called to the Lord's high standards, and the Lord Jesus commands us to:

1.) Love our enemies.

2.) Forgive all.

3.) Pray for all.

4.) Do good to all.

5.) Bless all.

He requires of us the same attitude that He has because He has paid the price by His blood, and we can enter into all that Christ has given to us.

We can bestow all that He has given us to others. Forgiveness, prayer and love are the greatest gifts that you can give to another person.

These gifts are unseen except in the Spiritual realm. When you love, forgive, pray for, bless and do good then you are storing up treasures in heaven.

You are blessed by your giving as Christ has given His unconditional love, forgiveness, goodness, blessings and pray for you. He is even now praying for His loved ones night and day.

We receive great benefits from obeying the Lord, and fulfilling His glorious purposes in our lives, and we are automatically blessed by giving all that we have to give. It is a gift from God through our own hearts to others.

Acts 20:35, "I have shewed you all things, how that so laboring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how He said, It is more blessed to give than to receive."

We know that when we hold unforgivenss; we are bound as if we were in prison. Let us be set free. Ask the Father to show you any unforgiveness in your heart through the power of The Holy Spirit, and He will.

When we forgive, we can pray that God will also forgive the person or persons because that is what the Lord did. When He was suffering on the cross for all of our sins, He said, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”

We need to follow our Lord in forgiving the person or people that have hurt us, and then asking God to forgive them as well.

What are the consequences of not obeying this crucial commandment?

1.) We are locked into an offence that will bring us into a bitterness that will progressively increase. These unforgivenesses will begin to accumulate, and the end is a hardened, bitter and unrepentant heart.

2.) When we refuse to forgive; God says that we will not be forgiven. It is as simple as that. We must forgive in order to be forgiven.

3.) We must forgive in order to walk closely with the Lord as the sin of unforgiveness separates us from hearing the Lord's voice and being led by the Holy Spirit.
The presence of God cannot come where unforgiveness is being harbored.

What are the benefits of making the decision to forgive?

1.) We are released from the prison of torment, and we release those who have offended us to receive from God as well.

2.) We will also be forgiven when we ask God for forgiveness.

3.) We will gain the blessings from heaven of obedience to God, and we will be used by God to bring healing in every situation.

Many great revivals started by one person forgiving another for an offense. The great Korean Revival of 1907 started with prayer which brought conviction, which brought forgiveness, which brought revival.

One man was praying, and he had held hatred in his heart toward a missionary over some small offense. The missionary didn't even know that he was hated by the man, but when the man confessed his sin, and forgave the missionary many, many others followed suit.

This act of forgiveness opening the floodgates of repentance, and the revival soon spread throughout North and South Korea.

Forgiveness brings untold benefits to the sender and to the recipient. Let us forgive as God has forgiven us.

The righteous Job had to not only forgive, but to pray for the friends that had judged him. True prayer for a person must come from a heart filled with love and forgiveness.

Joseph of the coat of many colors fame, forgave his brothers because he knew that what was meant by the enemy for evil; God meant it for good.

Joseph wanted to bless his brothers and protect them from harm, and so he went the extra step of blessing those who had cursed him.

He also loved them, and he did good to them. That means that he was a true child of God.

Why? Because he was doing the deeds of God.

Matthew 5:44-48, "But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect."

The Lord wants us to follow Him in all we do so that we can be perfected. He has paid the price, and now it is up to each born-again Christian to walk in His ways.

Matthew 16:24, "Then said Jesus unto His disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me."

Because God has forgiven each one of us as we confessed our sins to Him; we are to forgive others for His Name's sake. It is all for His honor and glory that we choose to forgive.

When we choose His ways then He will give us the power to forgive.

Ephesians 4:32, "And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you."