Remitted part 5
Remitting and retaining is kind of like binding and loosing. Let me explain: "And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven" (Matthew 16:19). But before we go any further we need to make something perfectly clear. We're not affecting heaven by what we do on earth as much as we're letting heaven affect earth. It's not, "If I bind this on earth heaven will line up with whatever I want!" It's, "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10). Heaven doesn't line up with earth. Earth lines up with heaven. That's why I've been trying to hit the truth so hard that Jesus enacted our forgiveness on the cross. We don't have the power to make someone forgiven or not forgiven. We DO have the power to make someone FEEL forgiven. Or not forgiven. We can either line the earth up with heaven... or not. Remit or retain. Bind or loose. We can let what's true BE true, or we can continue on with the lie. Listen to the lie of the world... or listen to that still, small voice deep inside telling us the report of the Lord. The ultimate truth of the universe. That God is love and He loves you. That we ARE forgiven. That everything that needs to happen... has already happened. Our part isn't making something happen. Our part is receiving (and releasing) what has happened. Laying hold of the gift of God and then giving away what we've got. And that's why it's so important to know the truth--because you can't give what you don't have. And you can only give what you do have. So you have to know what you have. Hurting people hurt people. But loved people love people. Forgiven people forgive people. I said earlier that we don't have the power to affect heaven. But we do have the power to bring heaven to earth. We have the power to affect PEOPLE. To let them know the truth (that has already set them free, and made them free) and to help them experience their freedom! And when we do that, WE experience that freedom. I mentioned before that forgiving someone is like unlocking the jail cell and then realizing that it was YOU who was locked up the whole time! You can lay aside that sin (unbelief) and that weight that does so easily beset you. You can stop holding grudges. Just let it go. Let go and let God. Remit what HE has remitted. Retain what HE has retained. On earth as it is in heaven! What's that old song, "Touching heaven, changing earth!" Letting what's true BE true. Not judging by appearance, but judging righteous judgment. Executing, or handing out, the judgment that has been passed down. Like what Jesus said about doing what He sees the Father do. Saying what He hears the Father say. Receiving and releasing the gift of God that is His love. Letting God love (and forgive) the hell out of us and then loving (and forgiving) the hell out of each other! That's what we can do if we want to affect things. Just let what's inside come out. Just receive it and release it. Bind it or loose it. Remit it or retain it!