Forgiveness
[Edit]Due to lies being told about me and what I said in this post, I have had to remove the post from this blog. For those who read this post before the edit, the persons I referred to who were completely unrepentant and actually happy with the damage they caused have now decided to use my post on this blog as a new way to attack me and separate me from my loved ones.
My words on this post have been twisted and altered by them to say and mean things that were not my intent or my meaning. So the entire post has been removed to keep them from being able to use it against me.
Kind of ironic that a post about forgiveness and my struggles and need to forgive them has been turned into an attack on me by the same people I was trying to forgive.
December 27th, 2008 at 10:40 am
FORGIVING… I can do it if the person is wanting /asking me to fogive. Then I see he /she is regretting a certain behaviour.
But does that person really regret?
So who is (really) asking you to forgive?
(Do you remember your post about a certain image of Christian monks…
)
December 29th, 2008 at 9:34 am
So sorry about the hurt. Biblically, two thoughts that might help.
1. There are several levels of forgiveness depending on the seriousness of the offense. With small things, “Love covers a multitude of sins.” If you can just let something go, one should. We look at our own sin and Christ’s forgiveness. We also, like Joseph, rely on God’s sovereignty to make good come of evil. If we cannot let it go, there is Matthew 18. But that does not always work.
2. Separate the concepts two concepts that you are blurring together. First, not holding the sin against a person and in humility leaving it in Gods hands (forgiveness). That is your Christian responsibility and it takes faith. Second, reconciliation and restoration of the relationship. You want to stay open and expectant like the Father in Luke 15, but you must be wise and realistic. When an offense is significant, it may not be possible to restore a relationship without repentance and reconciliation (Romans 12.18-21) You can’t fix it, but God’s plan is not broken, neither is his love for all involved.
Do you harbor bitterness? Can you pray for this person? Can you speak peacefully to them if the opportunity arises, even if you are careful against future divisive behavior? Do you feel spiritually superior? Are there other ‘older brother’ attitudes? These are the hard parts of forgiveness on a personal level.
You fellow pilgrim.
December 30th, 2008 at 10:45 am
Remember there can still be consequences even with forgiveness. If a child colors on the wall, they’re still going to get punished even though the parent forgives the child. It’s sad that they betrayed your trust. For me, it’s easy to forgive, but it’s harder to trust. You can forgive the people/person, but they have to earn your trust again. Good luck on the forgiveness thing. As ever, I’ll be praying for you and the family.