Monday, July 20, 2015

The Art of Forgiveness

I suspect that, unfortunately, there are still quite a number of Christians who love the Lord, but are still dealing with the issue of Forgiveness. There are still people in our lives that for one reason or another, we still have grudges against and bitterness towards. This is not the will of God. In order for us to progress spiritually and to get where God would have us to be, it is imperative that we learn the Art of Forgiveness. This may be easier than a lot of people think, but still it's not practiced as regularly as it needs to be, particularly in the Body of Christ. We must learn the Art of Forgiveness.

The first thing that we want to understand about Forgiveness is that it's Grace Based. The Forgiveness that God commands His children to have for one another is based upon the Grace of God. The Grace of God can be defined as God's Acceptance of us in spite of us. God loves us simply because He made us and He is Love. He's not waiting for us to "get it right" before He accepts us. The Scripture says we are "accepted in the Beloved" (Ephesians 1). Once you accept Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, God accepts you unconditionally. That's Good News! In spite of my sins, in spite of my habits, in spite of my shortcomings, in spite of my disobedience, God loves me and accepts me right where I am. That's Grace! It doesn't mean He wants me to stay where I am, but He "accepts" me where I am. This Grace is the basis of all forgiveness. We must learn to accept people unconditionally just the way God does with us. In spite of how you've been wronged or mistreated, at the end of the day there's one thing we know for sure, you're not God (Genesis 50). So you don't have the right not to forgive someone, particularly considering how God has forgiven you (Ephesians 4).

We also want to understand that Forgiveness is a decision. Sometimes you hear that forgiveness is a process; that it's going to take "time" for me to forgive someone. This is incorrect.  Forgiveness is not a process, it is a decision. You can make the decision to forgive someone immediately, particularly if you understand the application of Grace. What we confuse a lot of times is forgiveness with Healing. It may take "time" for you to get over the pain, the hurt, the abuse that you may have had to endure or absorb from someone. But this is not necessarily a reflection of forgiveness (even though of course it can be) but a lot of times it's due to a lack of healing. And what we do is think that because we're still hurting and associate the person with our pain, that we haven't genuinely forgiven them. This may be true, but it doesn't have to be. Forgiveness literally means the release of a debt. If I loan you $100 and you don't pay me back, I can forgive the debt, which means you no longer owe me the money. Now that doesn't mean I may not be disappointed by the fact that reneged on the loan, but technically, you've been forgiven. An example I often like to use is, if someone hits me in the face and breaks my jaw, I can forgive them right there on the spot. However, it's going to take weeks, maybe even months, for my jaw to heal. Do you see the difference? And believe it or not saints, the decision to forgive actually facilitates the healing process.

Lastly, we want to learn the Art of Forgiveness because our Salvation is contingent upon it. Jesus says very clearly, "but if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses" (Matthew 6). Did you know that a lot of professing Christians are going to hell because of a lack of forgiveness? Not lying, not stealing, not adultery, not gossip, lack of forgiveness. Why is this the case? Because it is inexcusable for you to be a recipient of the Grace and Forgiveness of God and not have the heart capacity to forgive those who have sinned against you, regardless of what they've done. Is that grudge, is that bitterness, that you're holding onto worth going to Hell for? I think not. Now is the time saints to go to God, let the Holy Spirit work with you, and let Him teach you the Art of Forgiveness.

No comments:

Post a Comment