"If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you.
What's your definition of forgiveness?
It might look something like this:
- Excusing what someone did to you
- Forgetting what happened
- Denying, or stuffing, your feelings
- Reconciling instantly every time
It's more like this:
- Embracing the offender--Christ modeled forgiveness at its best when He forgave and welcomed back those who hurt Him the most.
- Being proactive--When Jesus said from the cross, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing" (Luke 23:34), He was forgiving people before they even asked for it.
- Surrendering the right to get even--The essence of forgiveness, especially in our families, is letting go of our rights to punish and see justice done. Forgiveness is evident when one person ceases to demand restitution for hurt feelings and wounded pride.
I have heaps of work to do on this one. I also thought that forgiveness was in that first list. Boy was I wrong! I hope that we can all evaluate and reassess our ideas of forgiveness and be pro-active in correcting any wrong thinking and build our relationships to be more Godly.
The best way I have learned to forgive someone is to pray for them, and also to continually go before the throne of grace pouring out my heart saying that I forgive this person and release them to God. I do not want the accuser accusing me of anything before the Lord, I continually ask the Holy Spirit to examine my heart.
ReplyDeleteI had (he has now passed away from this life) a relative that was an abusive, loud, offensive, alcoholic and drug abuser, he made it very difficult for anyone to like him and esp. love him. But, after continued praying for him, my heart changed and I never grew to like him, but I certainly loved him and I know I had a different countenance around him. Praise God.
Kimberly,
ReplyDeleteI found you over at Pastor Ryan's. It is no mistake either - I am SO STRUGGLING with forgiveness RIGHT NOW............Thanks for this post!
Sandy