Evidence of Grace

Reflect and pray

The sermon asked a sobering question: does persistent unforgiveness reveal a heart that has never truly been changed? This is not about perfection. Every believer struggles, stumbles, and fights the flesh. But the direction of a life matters. In John 3, Jesus told Nicodemus that unless one is born again, he cannot even see the Kingdom of God. The new birth is not a minor adjustment; it is a supernatural transformation that reorients desires, affections, and behaviors. One of the fruits the Spirit produces in that new life is forgiveness.

Galatians 5:22 lists love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, and the rest. The sermon connected this fruit to the fourth soil in Matthew 13:23—the only soil that bears fruit. If the Spirit truly dwells in you, He will produce what you cannot produce on your own. You will find yourself forgiving not because you are a naturally nice person, but because a new nature is taking root. Conversely, when a professing believer clings to bitterness year after year, refuses reconciliation, and delights in the thought of another's downfall, it is right to ask whether the seed ever fell on good soil.

Today, do not beat yourself up for struggling to forgive. But do ask the honest question: is forgiveness growing in me? Is the direction of my life toward mercy, or am I stalled in my own strength? If you see growth, however small, thank the Spirit who is at work. If you see no growth at all, cry out to the Father for the new birth that changes stone hearts into flesh. He loves to answer that prayer. Remember that the same King who forgave the ten thousand talents is the one who gives the Spirit without measure. He is not waiting for you to clean yourself up before He helps you forgive. He is waiting for you to ask, so that His power and His mercy meet in your heart and produce fruit that lasts.