forgiveness

"The man who retires to meditate mischief and to exasperate his own rage--whose thoughts are employed only on means of distress and contrivances of ruin--whose mind never pauses from the remembrance of his own suffering, but to indulge some hope of enjoying the calamities of another--may justly be numbered among the most miserable of human beings, among those who are guilty without reward, who have neither the gladness of prosperity nor the calm of innocence.

Of him that hopes to be forgiven, it is indispensably required that he forgive. It is therefore superfluous to urge any other motive. On this great duty, eternity is suspended; and to him that refuses to practice it, the throne of mercy is inaccessible, and the Saviour of the world has been born in vain."  ~Samuel Johnson

get your act together

12Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13Bear with each other and forgive** whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

15Let the peace of Christ rule* in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. 17And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

~Colossians 3 [NIV]

*The attitude of peace that Christ alone gives--in place of the attitude of bitterness and quarrelsomeness. This attitude is to 'rule', literally function like an umpire in all human relationships.

**i. Forgiveness is a promise, made in response to repentance, to completely reconcile and to put the offense out of one’s mind. When a person says “I’ll forgive but I won’t forget,” they don’t understand what forgiveness is.

ii. The promise of forgiveness, as with the pattern of Christ’s forgiveness, is not made to the unrepentant, but to those who even show the slightest promise of repentance (Luke 17:3-4).

iii. If an offending party is unrepentant, it does no good for the offended one to hold on to their hurt and bitterness. Even if true forgiveness and reconciliation cannot be made because there is no recognition of wrong, the offended party still can and must give it to the Lord God and make the promise of forgivenss unto God. We can do this after the pattern of Jesus in Luke 23:34.

iv. If we do this, it will be evident by a lack of bitterness and resentment towards the offending party, and a willingness to restore the relationship at the slightest evidence of repentance.

~David Guzik

This is how the world will know we are Christians...by our forgiveness and love within and without the body of Christ. As the world watches on, it compels us, those who profess to be Christ-followers, it compels us to live in a manner WORTHY of Who's we are.

forgiveness 2

"Forgiveness is the scent the violet leaves                                                                               on the heel that has just crushed it."

~Mark Twain