The Bible tells us it is our duty to forgive others. We are warned that we will be judged in a like manner as we judge others, so reason dictates we freely and completely forgive and forgo being selfish and unfair.
God is willing to forgive us our sins if we repent. This does not, however, gaurantee a place in heaven for us, as we have other rules to obey to get there. But we can be forgiven which allows us to continue our pilgimage.
It remains our responsibility to become worthy of Him.
Forgiveness is not acceptance, but it is an effort to forget.
We can forgive, but that doesn't require condonement. Neither does it require acceptance of the sin or the sinner as continuing to be part of our lives. It is okay to forgive and then turn and walk away.
The blessing of forgiveness is not to bless the offender, although this is accomplished, but to allow the offended to free her/himself from the action and go beyond it, let it go, and forget as much as possible.
The two men I posted about yesterday were so brutally attacked. Their lives were torn apart. They are awaiting some tidbit of justice still. It is sad almost, to think that sometime in their lives, they will be better off if they can forgive the horrors of this crime against them. Can they do that? Should we expect it? Could you do it? How would you do that?
I'm convinced you become better off if you do. You must let things go.....go away from you...go away from your thinking...go away like disease so you can heal. But does this constitute an acceptance on your part? I don't think so because there surely are acts we cannont accept. Forgiving is not saying "Oh that's okay. We'll act as if it never happened," like you did in Elementary school. It shouldn't mean, okay, you'll just live with it. It should mean, however, it's over, now let it go. Walk away. Forget as much as you can.
To forgive something as awful as being wrongfully jailed probably takes more constitution than most of us have got. Although there are plenty of examples of this in history, especially Biblical examples, it seems like an impossible task. And there are much worse things people have to forgive. I don't know if it can be done. Lives are affected, changed, set on new courses. So, you forgive to save yourself. And you ask the Lord to help you. You still have to turn and walk away.
5 years ago
4 comments:
The thing about forgiving is that it doesn't always happen at once. And if the problem persists, then it's like it keeps coming back. Just when you think you have it accomplished, some other offensive thing happens and you have to start all over again. It helps to make a place for forgiveness and let the Lord assist in the actual forgiving. I had a mighty struggle with this at one time in my life. And then one day I realized that all of the bad feelings were gone. It was as if they had been erased. They were just gone! It was truly amazing.
Hi Judie
Thank you so much for your insight. You are absolutely right about forgiveness being an ongoing battle and the need for the Lord's help.
I'm not sure how to contact you. I'm very happy getting your comments and it seems there is a lot to say. Goodreads may or may not afford enough privacy. Both my daughter and I have discovered your Mormon Mommy pages and we are very impressed. I hope we are not intruding...we are really excited to visit and read more. Is that alright? Too intrusive? We think you're just amazing. Now if that hasn't scared you off... hope to see you again soon.
justmeRosalie/mudderbear
The Mormon Mommy site was started by a young woman who I have known since she was just a girl. She also authors the Geek Mom site you can find from my blog. She's a great girl. You are welcome to join in on any of the sites. This is a lot of fun, and since I am homebound right now, one of my outlets. You can contact me through the blog, or by e-mail. I think if you click on my name, it will show? I will have to check to be sure.
I like how you said "let things go away from you." Sometimes when someone says you need to let go to forgive etc, it's hard to remember they mean for your own good. Not that you're just acting as if it's no big deal that you were hurt.
Jeff says he can forgive but he won't forget. He says if you forget, you don't learn from your own past and that leaves you vulnerable. I kind of think that's a good point... like if your own hurt can make you more empathetic to others or something.
And thanks for the "permission" to walk away. I need to hear it from someone I can trust.
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