LS009 - Forgiveness - The Only Way

Hello everyone!

This is my tenth post in my aforementioned coding system so if a lifestyle update is not what you want to read then feel free to skip this post and wait for the next content.

As you could no doubt tell from my last post yesterday, I was in quite an angry state and needed to let off some steam. This led me to thinking about the true nature of the healing power of forgiveness so I thought I'd add my opinion on why it's so important whether you are a Christian or not...

Forgiveness - NOT a Choice

As I always do in posts like this, let's start by taking a look at the meaning of forgiveness: -

Forgiveness is the intentional and voluntary process by which a victim undergoes a change in feelings and attitude regarding an offense, lets go of negative emotions such as vengefulness, with an increased ability to wish the offender well.

I like this way of looking at it and, even if it is taken from the socially edited site Wikipedia, it still pretty much hit the nail on the head when compared with the Bible's view of forgiveness.

This quite clearly is showing that it is not only our responsibility but, strongly, that there are to be no strings attached to our forgiveness no matter the wrong that's been done to us.

Yes, our hurts and trials are painful, but the condition that is quite clearly attached here is that, in order for God to begin to heal our emotions, heal our scarred lives, we have to show a willingness to relinquish all negativity towards the person or event that hurt us.

It reminds me of that quote from Marianne Williamson where she said that unforgiveness is like drinking the poison yourself and expecting your enemy to be the one to perish!

Forgiveness is a journey that I willingly admit that I have to take every day because even though I feel like people let me down at the last church I went to and let me down badly, I still have to be forgiving in order to receive the healing power that comes with relinquishing bad emotions unto the grace and mercy of God.

Final Thought

It's a tough pill for us to swallow because Jesus quite clearly made it abundantly clear that His power flows to us when we are at our weakest points, just like He told the Apostle Paul (2 Corinthians 12:9).

If we are to have God's power working in, through and for us every single day then surely we are to be casting aside every single distraction along with the sin that so easily entangles, just like Hebrews 12 says.

I think this one wraps itself up, so I don't know about you but I just want to forgive everyone the wrong and the hurt that they have done to me lately and I hope you will soon begin to feel the same if you don't already!

Peace... and duct-tape!

===TLP===