Wednesday, October 30, 2013

What we hold tightly- Forgiveness Pt 1



Forgiveness is messy. There are times when the one offending us does not repent, and we cannot reconcile the relationship. There are times when it is so much easier to nurse our wounds and hold our grudges more tightly than we hold our loved ones. I’m excited that Caz is going to walk us through what forgiveness looks like in practical terms, because sometimes it is hard to know if we have really forgiven someone.
            I do know that when an issue keeps being brought up, forgiveness has not taken place (This week I’m speaking of situations when the offender is repentant). If we’re waiting for someone to mess up again and prove us right, again, forgiveness has not taken place. We can’t fool anyone by saying we have forgiven someone but create barriers or rehearse our justified anger. I think when forgiveness has truly taken place, the offender has to face guilt, and decide whether or not to change. The one forgiving must release. Both can only be done with God’s mercy.
Let’s learn to walk this line of forgiving others enough to heal the relationship, but not enough to enable them to continue unhealthy behavior. This more than anything else is critical for a healthy relationship- marriage in particular.
What do you need to be forgiven for? What do you need to forgive?   Let’s search ourselves and bring darkness into the Light. Let’s allow God to create pure hearts in us.




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