The Power to Forgive

There is a wall that separates two people who refuse to forgive each other.  The wall may be paper thin but yet, it is strong enough to separate them.  Unforgiveness is irrelevant unless the two parties mean that much to each other.  They could be family members, friends, spouses, etc.  The devil is given the power to keep one from the other.  

But God has the super power that He wants all of us to have.  That power is Forgiveness.  This is a very powerful tool in our arsenal that was given to us freely by God.  To illustrate, God is the highest of all high but yet, even during the time of the old testament, when people atoned with him using a sacrificial lamb, He was guaranteed to forgive them.  Someone who holds the highest power, being able to forgive.  

As a young child, my mother always told me that I should forgive my siblings when they do me wrong.  It was the hardest thing a child who has very little understanding of forgiveness.  She used to say, "Be the bigger person."  It makes a lot of sense now but at that time, my strong will refused to do so.  It was because I believed that if I forgave someone, they would have the upper hand on me.  And that carried throughout my adult life, until I was twice born.

Forgiveness breaks the chains of bondage from our past.  Whether we are the ones seeking forgiveness from Jesus or we are the ones whose forgiveness is sought after.  It sets us free nonetheless.  Forgiveness slays resentment and hate, shame and bitterness.

Who says forgiving someone is easy?  Well, it isn't.  Not even for God.  It cost Him His only Son, Jesus Christ.

Forgiveness is not forgetfulness.  We can hold out forgiveness because we can't forget the hurt that person caused.  Let's be clear.  Forgetting is a change of memory (which of course is impossible), but forgiveness is a change of heart.

Forgiveness is not diminishing the evil that was done to us, if that is so we wouldn't need to forgive.  It does however, come in light of evil, in spite of it, not in ignorance of it.

Forgiveness is not destructive.  When one forgives, there is no violence empowered or abuse to go on, but instead surrenders the hurt up to God to handle.  God is the judge, remember?

Forgiveness doesn't mean you approve of the situation that happened.  If so, you wouldn't need to forgive, right?

So, peek above that wall and learn to forgive.  There are a myriad more reasons to do so, I'm sure you can think of some.  Above all, we are honoring God when we forgive.  We are saying, "Lord, if you can forgive the worse of the worst possible sin, who am I to hold out on forgiveness?"  Simple as that!  No, really it is simple if you make a paradigm shift in your heart. In the end, Love prevails!

Until my next rant... LOVE ONE ANOTHER!