Thursday, May 22, 2008

Forgiveness

Forgiveness is a very complex word. It is understood in many ways by different people and most often we hear phrases like "Forgive and Forget". Sometimes it gets so overused it loses it's very essence and meaning that it becomes just another word used to sweep things under the carpet in order to move on with life.

I admit I am guilty of doing that once in a while as well, but what really is Biblical Forgiveness?

For one, We know that God's forgiveness is unconditional.
We have to forgive the people who’ve hurt us, and it has nothing to do with whether or not that person deserves forgiveness. They don’t deserve forgiveness, but then, we don’t deserve it either.
We forgive those who’ve hurt us because God forgives us for how we’ve hurt him. To be honest, the reason we often have a hard time forgiving others is because we don’t feel forgiven ourselves.

Forgiveness also means we need to do something abt it!
The Bible teaches three things that are essential to resume a relationship that has been broken: repentance, restitution, and rebuilding trust.

Forgiveness is also NOT abt forgetting what’s happened.
The only way you can forget something is to actually refocus on something else.
And that is focusing on how God takes the bad and works it out "for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose …" (Romans 8:28, NLT).

Lastly, why must we forgive?

Carrying a grudge just keeps us stuck in the past, and when we’re stuck in the past, we’re controlled by the past. Our unforgiveness can control us. The Bible says, "Surely resentment destroys the fool, and jealousy kills the simple" (Job 5:2 NLT).
The Bible also says that only the foolish harbor a grudge (Ecclesiastes 7:9). Accept forgiveness from God and give forgiveness to others.

I do not want to be controlled by my past, therefore I will forgive and learn to focus on GOD.
Yes, they do not deserve my forgiveness, but neither do I deserve God's forgiveness!
How great it is to know that despite our sinfulness, God has chosen to forgive us and love us as his very own. Truly, we worship and praise a great, loving and merciful God!

Posted by [DoNuT]® at 3:26 PM