INSPIRATION ............................................................................................................................... .................................................................................. .
The importance of forgiveness
Esther Williams explains why Christians must be forgiving people, and shares that whilst forgiving others is not easy, God will always enable us to do so - if we are willing
ESTHER
WILLIAMS is an international Development Journalist
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orgiveness is one of those non-negotiable acts that we must do if we call ourselves Christians; our eternal destiny depends on
it. Yet, it’s probably one of the hardest things to do.
It goes against our natural way of thinking; someone betrays or hurts us, and we immediately distance ourselves from them. We go through the motions of forgiveness; smile, be courteous, etc, but deep down we’re still holding that person captive.
I can think of a couple of times in my life when I’ve found it incredibly difficult to forgive someone. I even bought a book on forgiveness and read it twice to help me with what I was going through. It was during that time I realised that the art of true forgiveness is a daily process, a choice which I had to make each day to be nice to the person, to honour and to pray for them. Yes - I said pray for them. Was it easy? No; I would start off with little ten-second prayers: “Bless them, increase them and promote them, Lord. Amen.” I know that sounds holy, but initially these prayers were quite calculated. I was actually praying for God to promote them out of my life and environment, so I never had to see them again! So I wouldn’t feel physically ill just at the mere sight of them! Of course, this is not ideal, but I had to start somewhere, and was definitely committed to the forgiveness process. As time went on, I made a daily decision to walk in forgiveness towards the person - admitting to God that I was finding it hard.
I think it was this honesty before God that brought about my breakthrough. I cast my cares at His feet and my heart began to soften, and I received the understanding that the only person that was being imprisoned by a resistance to completely forgive was me. Once I gave the burden to God, I was free. I learnt to forgive by faith - trusting every day that my step of faith would translate to a genuine change of heart. And, over time, it did.
Today I find it easier to forgive, and have learnt not to be too hard on myself, recognising that genuine forgiveness can sometimes be a slow process. I am talking about when you have been hurt very deeply - not when someone stepped on your toes in church! That is something that you need to just get over - that is not even an issue.
One of the things that helps me is an awareness of my own humanity: my own ability to make mistakes; say the wrong things, and unintentionally hurt people. This makes it easier for me to show mercy, as I recognise that at some point down the road, I will need someone to forgive me. None of us are perfect. In his book, ‘Alone with God’, John MacArthur Jr says: “Nothing in the Christian life is more important than forgiveness - our forgiveness of others and God’s forgiveness of us.”
The Bible says in Mark 11:25: “And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins.”
Matthew 6:14-16 says: “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”
This Easter, it’s important for us to remember that God loves us too much to allow us to
destroy ourselves through bitterness and resentment, which are often the by-products of a heart clogged up by unforgiveness. He provided a Way for us to forgive and be forgiven, that Way is Jesus Christ. God’s plan of salvation was to send Jesus, His only Son, into the world to be a sacrifice for our sins. Jesus died on the cross taking the punishment that was due to us. He died a perfect death, and on the third day He rose with perfect resurrection power, so that we could be free from sin. Free to forgive, and free to let go of the past.
So, if you’re reading this and going through a bad marriage; the pain of divorce; a broken relationship; or perhaps all hell has broken loose in your workplace, all I have say to you is: Happy Resurrection Day! It is not over, there’s an empty grave: the stone has been rolled away and Jesus is alive forevermore. Embrace forgiveness, ask God to help you take one day at a time, and He will be faithful to complete what He has started in your life.
You can do it. ...............................................................
You can follow Esther Williams on Twitter @mew36 ...............................................................
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