When you forgive this man, I forgive
him, too. And when I forgive whatever needs to be forgiven, I do so with Christ’s authority for your benefit,
Forgiveness is one of the
most powerful things in the world. We
can give it, and we can receive it. Both
directions are very important because the lack of forgiveness leads to spiritual
and physical problems.
This is the way begins his
relationship with us, by forgiving our sins, and how God opens up more of our
freedom and strength by giving and receiving forgiveness with the people we
encounter in life.
We have a choice to survive
or to thrive. Surviving often means you
do as little as possible to simply get by.
To thrive means you go above and beyond.
Have you experienced the peace that comes with forgiveness? It is freeing to people on both sides of the
relationship.
I have shared with you
before that one of my favorite writers is Henri Nouwen. His daily email meditation yesterday shared
the following:
"Then the master called the
servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of
yours because you begged me to. Shouldn't you have had mercy on your
fellow servant just as I had on you?'"
Matthew 18: 32-33 (NIV)
Receiving
Forgiveness
There are two
sides to forgiveness: giving and receiving. Although at first sight giving seems to be
harder, it often appears that we are not able to offer forgiveness to others
because we have not been able fully to receive it. Only as people who have accepted forgiveness
can we find the inner freedom to give it. Why is receiving forgiveness so difficult? It
is very hard to say, "Without your forgiveness I am still bound to what
happened between us. Only you can set me
free." That requires not only a
confession that we have hurt somebody but also the humility to acknowledge our
dependency on others. Only when we can
receive forgiveness can we give it.
(find the original post at THIS LINK)
I pray that you and I will learn the art of receiving forgiveness. Last night I spoke on the phone with a friend
I have known for lots of years, and as we were about to end the call they said
they had one more thing to share. It was
a forgiveness issue that they had help for a long time, and they said it was
time to make it right. He needed to give
forgiveness, and I needed to receive it.
Luke 17:4 NLT
Even if that person wrongs you seven
times a day and each time turns again and asks forgiveness, you must forgive.
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