Yes, I know I’ve written on forgiveness before… this topic always bears repeating. Besides, there are so many different aspects to the word – forgive. This point is – are you quick to forgive, requested or not? How good a forgiver are you? Are you a willing forgiver? Do you forgive and forget? What if your forgiveness isn’t sought… do you still forgive? Or… do you shackle yourself with unforgiveness?
I’m inclined to think that the latter category of forgiving regardless of whether it is sought is the most important. There can be occasions when you haven’t been asked because the other person has no idea that they hurt you in any way so they don’t ask. Or maybe they feel that even if they had hurt you, you share in the ‘blame’ so why aren’t you seeking their forgiveness. And there are many variations on these themes. Point is – can/will you forgive? Do you ever ‘flip’ the coin and look at the situation from the other person’s view? If you were in the other person’s shoes, would you seek to be forgiven?
We all know the scriptures that talk about God can’t forgive us if we don’t forgive those who, intentionally or not, caused us pain
“But if you do not forgive others [nurturing your hurt and anger with the result that it interferes with your relationship with God], then your Father will not forgive your trespasses.” (Matthew 6:15, AMP)
I sometimes wonder if this scripture wasn’t my motivation to not hold grudges or release the other person from what they did to me. I do know that when I am in a situation and the other person asked for my forgiveness, I have no choice because holding on to those feelings isn’t worth the price of separation from the Father. Besides… what do I gain by not forgiving?
“I, only I, am He who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake, And I will not remember your sins.” (Isaiah 43:25, AMP)
“As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.” (Psalm 103:12, AMP)
If I want the Lord to forgive and forget what I’ve done… then I have no cause to ‘forgive but not forget’. Actually, we are only imprisoning ourselves by the baggage of unforgetfulness (yes I know it isn’t a word, it should be). Because it is we who are burdened not the person we haven’t totally forgiven because I’ve learned that part of extending forgiveness is forgetting.. I believe that forgiveness is a quality that should mark our lives – our words, our thoughts, our behaviors. We need to live lives as ForgivERs. We cannot do less than what we need, what the Lord gives us:
“He shall again have compassion on us; He will subdue and tread underfoot our wickedness [destroying sin’s power]. Yes, You will cast all our sins Into the depths of the sea.” (Micah 7:19, AMP)
