Forgiveness hoarder: all the ways I fail to measure up

You and I know about measuring up.  Sometimes we do; many times we don't.  We aren't the smartest or fastest or strongest or kindest or wittiest or.....well, you fill in the blank.  No matter what, we just aren't. 

So when we get to that petition in the Lord's prayer which we Lutherans translate as  "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us" we either race past or stumble over this place where we clearly don't measure up.

We are not the best at forgiving others.....and it is a bit off-putting to think that God forgives us with the same measure we use with others.  That's the way we read it:  God is measuring out our forgiveness with others, and will give us just the same amount of forgiveness back.  And I know two things:  I am short on the forgiving others side and in great need on the forgiveness needed.  My scales are way out of balance.

What if we turned this upside down?  What if God's great gracious generous love is the starting point of God's great gracious generous forgiveness?  How would that change the manner in which we balanced the debts that others owe us?  What if forgiveness isn't a tool to control others but rather is given and received without any measure  or expectation - because we are family, we are one in Christ, because that is how life moves forward?

What if we stopped being forgiveness hoarders?  Could it change our lives?  Could it change the world?