Forgiveness, so misunderstood!

For the past two weeks I have been speaking about forgiveness based on an article at MarkMerrill.com Forgiveness is not what you think! The following is an outline of sorts. It will probably evoke more questions. That’s good. We start with

Ø  Forgiveness is NOT:

§  A Feeling If it were we would never do it because we would never feel like it!

§  Weakness It requires more strength to recognize the wrong, declare it and deal with it.

§  Ignoring It is not ignoring the hurt or hiding from it. It is just the opposite.

§  Forgetting It is what God does but you are I are not God. At least not like him yet!

§  Condoning It is not excusing the wrong. It neither minimizes nor justifies the act.

§  Reconciling We are to forgive and reconciliation may follow but it is not necessary for forgiveness

§  Based on THEIR actions or inaction it really is about us and our actions. They may never acknowledge the wrong or even know of the wrong. We should forgive to let go of the hurt and begin healing.

§  Conditional It does not contain clauses like If you do this and this and this…then I will forgive you. It’s not about them! It’s you letting go!

§  A Free Pass Sin has a way of finding us out. It will come back to bite us again and again if we don’t change our ways.

§  Revenge It is not a way to make the other feel bad so they can hurt like you.

§  Justice God is the judge of the righteous and the unrighteous. ALL will stand in judgment before him with Christ or without!  

§  Change The other person that is. Their actions, thoughts or behaviors. It’s about changing yours.

§  Trust Because you forgive another does not mean you have to trust them. It may mean that you can and will and that is best. Forgiveness is freely given. Trust must be earned with consistent truth telling over a period of time usually longer than we think.

§  Changing the Past Rather it is to draw a line in the sand to change the present and the future from her on out.

Ø  Forgiveness IS: A Command with a Consequence

A command of God is for our best interest. It is for our benefit. We don’t like being told what to do that’s why we rebel. But God’s heart is good. He is for us not against us. He has way too much invested in us to destroy us although it would be his right as we can never repay the debt we owe to him.

 

 ^14-15 “In prayer there is a connection between what God does and what you do. You can’t get forgiveness from God, for instance, without also forgiving others. If you refuse to do your part, you cut yourself off from God’s part. Matthew 6:14-15 The Message

In HIS Service and Yours

Bro G