Forgiveness

I’m cautious in writing on the subject of forgiveness. In fact, I’m not going to write much for now. Somewhat unfamiliar territory for me.

However, I ran into a quote which reads, “Forgiveness protects us from the insidious harm that comes from sin done against us.*”

Read the quote again. No seriously. Read it again. Look at the key word. The key word is protects us. Forgiving others protects us.

I used to think that if I didn’t forgive others like God forgave me, then He’d be looking down on me and saying, “Bad human.” This couldn't be further from the truth. He’s already stripped all sin from me and made me perfectly perfect (2 Cor 5:17). All He does is talk about me and the rest of His children with the angels. How could He call me “bad human” when He’s transformed me into a good human? This is illogical.

So, there must be another reason** to forgive others. I think this quote hit it right on the head. God wants to protect us. It’s like He’s working all the angles to get our attention. “Steven, when you forgive so-in-so, you will experience a release from resentment and bitterness that I so long for you! You will experience feelings of peace and tranquility more and more over time. It won't be perfect peace for you, because you'll fall back into the old thought patterns of resentment and bitterness from time to time, but overall it's gonna be awesome!” Wow!

God desires to protect you and I from harm. Forgiving others is part of that process. It’s like a shield or buffer that protects us from resentment and bitterness among other things. It is God’s heart for us.

This is about all I know for now.

Matthew 23:37
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*Leadership Catalyst
** Maybe not the only reason, but a darn good one to start with, at least.