Forgiveness and God Essay Example

so he could pray by himself. The mother, sensing that something was wrong, she asked, "Bobby? Is there something you ought to tell me? " "No mommy. " He replied. Mimi would Just scold at me, but God will forgive me and he will forget about it. He will forgive and he will roger. Clean slate. He wouldn't use our sins and mistakes against us. It is completely forgotten, like it never happened. All our sins erased. We, as humans, we can't help but sin. It is inevitable and we do it over and over and over again. The good news is, God is a forgiving God. He forgives repeatedly. He never runs out of 2nd chances. No matter how many times we sin against Him, he never stops forgiving. He never grows tired or impatient with us. Now that we have learned of God's forgiveness, let us apply it in practical living by Forgiving Others.

Let's face it, when we are the one's inning or when we have hurt others, we sometimes expect them to forgive us instantly. We sometimes even get mad when they don't but when someone has wronged us, we find it real hard to forgive them. We hold grudges against them and sometimes, we even plan revenge. But why should we forgive? The reason is very simple: Because the Lord commanded it. Paul says in Collisions 3:13 "Make allowance for each other's faults and forgive anyone who offended you. Remember, the Lord forgives you, so you must forgive others. In a simpler version, he says, "Forgive as the Lord Forgave you. " Like the Lord organs us, - Freely, Completely,

Instantly and repeatedly. Vive heard some people say, "Forgiveness is earned. " Well then, if that statement is true, then none of us should be forgiven. We do not deserve His forgiveness yet He has given it to us. Let's think about this, if Jesus Christ who is prefect, completely sinless, is willing to forgive us, who keep sinning over and over again, then doesn't it make more sense that we snouts Torture tense won nave wronged us, SINNERS Just like us?

Another reason why we should forgive is because when we do not forgive others, we are planting triteness and hatred in our hearts. Bitterness and unforeseen set their hooks up deep in our hearts; they are chains that hold us captive to the wounds. Until we forgive, we remain their prisoner. Bitterness ruins our life. It is a poison that damages us. It damages our relationship with others and mostly it damages our relationship with God. Our unwillingness to forgive separates us from God. I remember hearing about a Christian couple who lost their daughter in the 9/1 1 attack.

They were visiting the site of the crash, ground zero. When a reporter came p to them and chatted with them. They told the reporter what had happened & they mentioned that they were Christians. So the reporter, upon hearing that they were Christians said, "So I'm sure that on Sunday, when you go to church, you will pray about it and you will leave it in the hands of God. " The mother said, "No, we won't be going to church anytime soon. " "Why? " The reporter wondered. The mother replied,

"Because we are not yet ready to forgive. We still cannot accept what happened.

We are not blaming God but we're Just not yet ready. " Their unwillingness to forgive taints their relationship with God. It hinders from to talk to God completely because they know that Lord commanded us to forgive. "An offense against your neighbor builds a fence between you and God" There's a lot of confusion about forgiveness. People know they should, and they try and try but they eventually give up, because it's too hard - it's impossible. But often that's because they don't understand how to do it. People focus on trying to change something they have no direct control over.

They focus on what they feel and we can't directly change those. But what we can do is focus on changing what is under our control. - Granting them our forgiveness. Forgiveness is a choice. It is not a feeling. Don't try to feel forgiving before you forgive. Forgiveness is an act of will. Neil Anderson wrote, "Don't wait to forgive until you feel like forgiving. You will never get there. Feelings take time to heal after the choice to forgive is made. " Forgiveness is not amnesia which erases the past - instead it is the experience of healing that draws the poison out.

It is not saying, "It didn't really matter" or, "that it's fine. Forgiveness says, "It is wrong. Very wrong. It mattered, it hurt me deeply. And I'm releasing it. I'm letting it go. " You may recall that pain but you will no longer relive it.. We acknowledge that it hurt, that it mattered,

but we choose to extend our forgiveness. The surest test of maturity is to forgive. Is it hard to forgive a person who has offended us? When we look to Jesus as our example, how are we doing? The more we become like Him, the easier it will be to forgive others. When it seems we can't forgive, let us remember how much we've been forgiven.