« Return to the Constitution … NOW! | Main | “When government expands, liberty contracts” – Ronald Reagan »
Forgiveness.
By pastordave | August 30, 2010
Forgiveness is arguably the most difficult act. Whether you are a Christian or not the act of forgiveness is quite unnatural for carnal man. We are heavily ruled by our emotions and if we feel we’ve been wronged in any way we can have instant recall of it. Scripture makes it abundantly clear, however, that we are expected to overcome the carnal impulse and be ruled by the direction of a forgiving God, a merciful God. He wants us to imitate Him in a likewise manner. God is gracious to us therefore we pass on being gracious toward others. We practice mercy because God is merciful to us, we forgive because Messiah forgave us. Passing it forward if you will. Scripture makes it clear that, if we do not forgive men their sins against us then neither will the Father forgive us our sins. Nothing ambiguous about this matter. If we harbor a non-forgiving spirit toward another we are now in deep spiritual trouble. I cannot stress this enough. If we refuse to forgive another of their sin against us then the Father will refuse to forgive our sins … period!
Here is an example I often use:
A man is caught cheating on his wife, or voluntarily confesses. He is willing to stop the adultery. He is asking for forgiveness. He is in the act of repentance. It would be normal for the wife to feel hurt, angry, betrayed. She may not even know how to feel anything right away due to shock. Eventually, even though she feels all these emotions, she recalls all the love she has had for her husband, their children, the hardships they managed to rise above throughout their lives together. Even though she has been provoked into righteous anger over this betrayal, the fact that he is asking for forgiveness, that he is willing to stop the sinning, that he is wanting to not just restore their relationship as it was, but rather make it a better, more loving and stable one, she is willing to act with forgiveness. It can take many years to regain trust once broken in this manner. If the husband does his part in keeping with “the fruits of repentance” this will assure his wife that he is sincere and worth the risk of trusting again over time. The husband must be ready to reassure his wife when needed. He must be ready to confirm he is being trustworthy. He must deliberately avoid any place, any attitude, or whatever assisted producing the affair.
( in progress … check back )
Topics: Uncategorized | No Comments »