Can you forgive easily? Our natural instinct is self-
Do you find the act of forgiving difficult? We expect others to forgive us, and ask weekly to be forgiven during our services, and we as Christians are expected to forgive.
Forgiveness is often difficult to do, but so necessary. In the Bible its importance
is shown in it being a very prominent theme. And the Bible offers us clear insight
and answers for many of the questions we might have about forgiveness. We are instructed
to forgive as the Lord forgave us in Colossians 3:13-
Since forgiveness goes against our nature, we must forgive by faith, out of obedience to Jesus. whether we feel like it or not. We may really want revenge and retribution, but that is not our choice. We must trust God to handle that issue, so that the forgiveness will be complete. However, forgiveness is often a slow, painful process. The good news is that when we do forgive, the Lord sets our hearts free from the anger, bitterness, resentment, and hurt that previously imprisoned us. We are the ones who suffer most when we choose not to forgive.
The best reason to forgive is because Jesus commanded us. The Bible is clear that
if we don't forgive, neither will we be forgiven Matthew in 6:14-
There is a Forgiveness Day -
Some time ago Monica in one of her sermons introduced us to the Forgiveness Project which is a UK based charity that uses storytelling to explore how ideas around forgiveness, reconciliation and conflict resolution.
There is much to forgive. Outside of our personal issues the news reports modern atrocities and persecution daily. We are also looking back at past conflicts as anniversaries of events of the world wars are remembered. Eva Kor explains at the trial of former Auschwitz guard Oskar Groening why she has forgiven her persecutors under much criticism from family and the public: “As long as we understand my forgiveness that the victim has a right to be free, you cannot be free from what was done to you unless you remove from your shoulder the daily burden of pain and anger and forgive the Nazis – not because they deserve it, but because I deserve it.”
We forgive out of obedience to the Lord. It is a choice, a decision we make. As we forgive we discover that the command is in place for our own good, and we will receive the reward of our forgiveness – freedom.
George Jevons
Forgiveness