The Freedom of Forgiveness

Philippians 4:7 -

And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 4:32 -

And be kind to one another, full of pity, having forgiveness for one another, even as God in Christ had forgiveness for you.


One of the most difficult things we as humans face, is the FACT that something or someone will hurt us. It is part of life. It is a guarantee that you will not leave this life unscathed, un-scarred, and undamaged. You will get hurt. Pure and simple... :-)

...and a grudge will eat you alive.

I have ALWAYS taken forgiveness very seriously. If I tell someone that I forgive them, then I had BETTER be ready to let it go... whatever it was, if I say "I forgive you"... then it's done. It's gone. It's OK. I will not hold it over their head. If I can't do that, then I won't tell them they're forgiven, because it would be a lie.

You want to experience true freedom? Find that thing that hurts you the most... dissect it. Take it apart. Piece by piece until you get to the guts of the issue. Then you face it. Head on. Let me tell you, it will hurt... all over again like it was happening to you right then. Chances are, you won't understand why someone did what they did. They may not even be sorry for what they did. They may twist every truth you've ever known and try to make it your fault. And you know... that's OK. That's human nature. To place the blame somewhere else - and not take responsibility for what they did.

But here's where the freedom comes... you hit your knees, and you pray. You ask Christ to allow you to borrow some of His grace and place it like a bandage over the open wound. No imperfect human can truly forgive without Divine intervention. Because what you're doing is really allowing Him to fix the hole in your heart... it's not fixing that other person. It can take a lot of time, or you can get there in a day or two... it just depends.

When you can let go... and realize that people are people, and they make mistakes... sometimes HUGE ones... you can forgive. Lord knows that I have done my fair share of hurting other people. Does that all of a sudden make me a horrible person? Make me less than what He has made me? Nope. I'm still the same person. I'm still worthy of love... I'm a screw up, but so is everyone else. The MINUTE I forget that, I am in the wrong. If I ever HOPE to receive forgiveness from that person that I love with every breath I have WHEN, not IF, I hurt them, then I have to be ready to give it first.

And there's that freedom... the freedom to say, "I love you..." and mean it... with no strings attached... Love keeps no record of wrongs, right? Right. So cowboy up and get it figured out. Forgiveness is a privilege - but He has instructed us to GIVE it. So, that means, if He is capable of forgiving us of our sins, WHO ON EARTH are we to decide who does and does not receive forgiveness?

So forgive... and receive the peace that passeth all understanding, the grace and the healing and the love that He wants to give you.

Take a deep breath, clean up the mess, hold His hand, and keep on going...

"To err is human, to forgive - Divine..."
- Alexander Pope