Forgiving others and receiving forgiveness from others has been such a powerful, life changing dynamic in my life and the life of my family. In my 50 years of adulthood, I have noticed that when a person seems unable to truly receive God’s offer of forgiveness, further conversation often reveals he/she is unwilling to forgive another who has sinned against them. Usually that unwillingness to forgive another is accompanied by an unwillingness to acknowledge and turn from their own specific, sinful actions.
It seems so easy to prefer living life as a perpetual victim rather than stepping into the freedom Christ offers, into the responsibility to see ourselves as God sees us and to receive and give forgiveness. It is the hard, hard work of love to see ourselves and others as God sees us, but God’s Holy Spirit will help us when we ask.
Forgiving others and receiving forgiveness from others has been such a powerful, life changing dynamic in my life and the life of my family. In my 50 years of adulthood, I have noticed that when a person seems unable to truly receive God’s offer of forgiveness, further conversation often reveals he/she is unwilling to forgive another who has sinned against them. Usually that unwillingness to forgive another is accompanied by an unwillingness to acknowledge and turn from their own specific, sinful actions.
It seems so easy to prefer living life as a perpetual victim rather than stepping into the freedom Christ offers, into the responsibility to see ourselves as God sees us and to receive and give forgiveness. It is the hard, hard work of love to see ourselves and others as God sees us, but God’s Holy Spirit will help us when we ask.
Amen!