Forgiveness and God Essays

Forgiveness and God Essays Forgiveness and God Essay Forgiveness and God Essay Forgiveness. It is a part of our daily routine. Something we frequently give and take but do we truly understand its meaning? According to Encarta Dictionary, to forgive mearns to stop being angry about something, to pardon someone from their mistakes, to cancel an obligation or offense such as a debt. According to primary sstudents, Forgiveness mearns not taking revenge. Forgiveness mearns being friends again. Forgiveness, for me, is the best gift we can give and receive. Not only it is free but we also honour God when we do so. The greatest act of forgiveness is the forgiveness God gives to us, inners. : Gods forgiveness is priceless. Jesus Christ already died on the cross to save us. Redemption. And he gives it freely. All we have to do is ask. It is said in Romans 3:23-24 All of us have sinned and fall short, yet God declares us not guilty If we trust in Jesus Christ, who in mercy FREELY takes away our sins. Freely, he is not asking for any payment. We Just really have to confess and ask for forgiveness. And when we have asked for it, he gives it to us instantly. Isaiah 55:7 proves this, God is merciful and is quick to forgive. The moment we ask or forgiveness, we are automatically forgiven. No need to wait a long and dreadful time for his forgiveness. A little boy had Just been tucked into bed by his mother, who was waiting to hear his prayer. But the little boy had been naughty that day, and now it was bothering him. He asked his mother if she could leave 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. miou would Just scold at me, but God will forgive me and he will forget about it. He will forgive and he will orget. Clean slate. He wouldnt use our sins and mistakes against us. It is completely forgotten, like it never happened. All our sins erased. We, as humans, we cant 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 rrepeatedly. 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 Gods forgiveness, let us apply it in practical living by Forgiving Others. Lets face it, when we are the ones inning or when we have hurt others, we sometimes expect them to forgive us instantly. We sometimes even get mad when they dont 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 Colossians 3:13 Make allowance for each others 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 orgave us, Freely, Completely, Instantly and rrepeatedly. IVe 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. Lets think about this, if Jesus Christ who is prefect, completely sinless, is willing to forgive us, who keep sinning over an d over again, then doesnt it make more sense that we snou10 Torglve tnose wno nave wronged us, SINNERS Just like us? Anotner reason why we should forgive is because when we do not forgive others, we are planting itterness and hatred in our hearts. Bitterness and unforgiveness 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 Im 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 wont 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 were Just not yet ready. Their unwillingness to forgive tains 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 neighbour builds a fence between you and God Theres a lot of confusion about forgiveness. People know they should, and they try and try but they eventually give up, because its too hard its impossible. But often thats because they dont 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 cant 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. Dont try to feel forgiving before you forgive. Forgiveness is an act of will. Neil Anderson wrote, Dont 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 didnt really matter or, that its fine. Forgiveness says, It is wrong. Very wrong. It mattered, it hurt me deeply. And Im releasing it. Im 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 cant forgive, let us remember how much weve been forgiven.